Marauders: Year Three
by kazoquel4
Summary: It's Year 3 at Hogwarts for the Marauders and things have taken a dark turn. A powerful dark wizard is rising to power in the Wizarding World, but there are troubles inside Hogwarts too. Sirius struggles at home, and the new DADA teacher is less than fond of werewolves and tries to complicate Remus's life even as his friends secretly try to make his transformations easier. SEQUEL
1. Unanswered Letters

This is the third part of my Marauders series. If you're a first time reader, please go to my page and read Marauders: Year 1 before this. Thank you, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the cover artwork. All rights to their respective owners.

 **Year 3**

 **Chapter 1: Unanswered Letters**

 _Sirius,_

 _How's life in the Black household? I hope it's not too horrible. It's been dreadfully boring at my house. My parents have gotten over their initial excitement at seeing me again and things are back to normal, meaning my mum's chewing me out every day to clean my room or reprimanding me for all my detentions at school. I don't think she liked it when I said I was quite proud of those detentions._

 _Peter's supposed to get here in a few days, but Remus can't come until next week because the full moon's coming up and his mom is nervous we'll find his behavior suspicious. He hasn't told her that we know, and Remus didn't want to push her. But we're all going to be here in a little bit; you need to join us NOW!_

 _Please respond to this letter. You've been ignoring me for the past two weeks and it's starting to scare me. I talked to Remus and Peter and they said you haven't been talking to them either. What's up? Do you need help? We're going to launch a rescue mission if you don't send something back to us._

 _Respond ASAP._

 _-James_

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 _Dear Sirius,_

 _James wrote again to tell me you haven't been responding to him, either. I think he's going to have a panic attack one of these days, and truthfully so am I. Is everything okay?_

 _I've had a nice break. It's relaxing to be at home, but too quiet for my taste. I miss you three. My mother's been doting on me. Apparently she's worried I'm not taking care of myself at school. Why on Earth would she think that?_

 _Please respond. Or at least respond to James. He's going nuts._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Remus_

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 _Sirius Orion Black,_

 _WHAT ARE YOU DOING? It's been three weeks and the only thing I've gotten was your first letter the day after break started complaining that your mother was chewing you out for all the detentions. Are you alright?_

 _Respond immediately._

 _-James_

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 _Sirius,_

 _We're getting really worried. If you get this, write back._

 _-Remus_

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 _Sirius,_

 _I'm at James's house. He and his parents are going nuts. Write to someone._

 _-Peter_

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 _James,_

 _Yes, I got your letter. I tried to talk my mom into letting me come over early but she won't budge. The full moon's in three days, and she'll let me leave three days after that when she's sure I'm well. So it'll be about a week before I come over._

 _I know you're wondering: no, Sirius hasn't responded to me, and yes, I'm extremely worried. We'll talk about it more when I'm at your house._

 _Say hello to Peter and your family for me. See you soon._

 _-Remus_

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"Ugh!" James shouted, throwing his quill down. "What's the point? He's not gonna respond."

He and Peter were sitting in James's room trying to write another letter to Sirius, but didn't have anything to say. James had taken to sending him a letter a day, and he was running out of things to write.

"I hope he's okay," Peter squeaked.

"He'd better be," James muttered, "or I'm going to kill him."

It was the day after the full moon. James wished that Remus could come over now, but his mother was holding him captive because she didn't want the Potter's to get suspicious because he's so tired. James wanted Remus to tell her they knew, but Remus claimed that she would freak out and pull him out of the school if he did, so they had to sit tight until she let him leave.

"Maybe he's on vacation," Peter suggested.

"The owls would still be getting to him," James said. "No, he's either ignoring us on purpose or he can't respond." He buried his face in his hands. "Merlin, I'm worried."

Peter didn't say anything. He knew nothing he did would make James feel better, so he decided to remain silent.

"I wish Remus was here," James said, flopping back on his bed. "He would know what to do."

When Peter had first arrived James had been excited about pursuing their Animagus idea while Remus wasn't there, but worry about Sirius had overshadowed even that, and he hadn't said a word about it in days.

"I know," Peter said. "It's too bad he isn't allowed."

James frowned up at the ceiling, then sat up. There was a small smile on his face. "He isn't allowed to come," he said, "but that doesn't mean we're not allowed to go to him."

"James-" Peter said, but his friend was already off the bed and out the door. "James!"

He ran after James, finding him in the living room holding the box of Floo Powder. Mr. Potter was at work, and Mrs. Potter had gone out shopping, leaving the two boys home alone, and Peter found himself wishing they would get home and put a stop to their son's antics.

"James, his mom is going to freak!" Peter said, bouncing from one foot to the other nervously.

"Yes, but maybe we can convince her to let him come. Come on, Pete, we all need to be here so we can talk about rescuing Sirius. It's after the full moon now, it's fine."

Peter moaned as James tossed a handful of powder into his fireplace. A green fire roared up, making Peter jump. He rarely used Floo Powder, and when he did it always made him nervous.

"Follow after me, Pete!" James hopped inside, the fire flickering around him without burning him. "Lupin household!"

There was a curious sucking noise and James was gone. Peter looked around, half expecting Mrs. Potter to show up and yell at them. He had only been there a week and already he knew that Mrs. Potter was a force to be reckoned with. The house was empty, though, and eerily silent; with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, Peter grabbed a handful of powder.

"Lupin household," he said, hopping into the grate.

The house fell silent as the flames disappeared, Peter along with them.

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"Are you sure you're alright, Remus, dear?" Mrs. Lupin asked.

"Yes, Mum." Remus was dabbing at one of the cuts on his arms with a wet towel. The full moon had been pretty good to him last night; he had a few deep scratches on his arm and his wrist was kind of sore, but other than that and a bit of fatigue he felt fine.

He wished he could go over to James's right now, but his mother wouldn't hear of it. "Those boys have enough to get suspicious of at school," she had said when he had protested. "They don't need to see you tired and beat up over the summer, as well." Her heart was in the right place, but Remus was annoyed with the whole matter, especially with what was going on right now.

Remus hadn't told his mother about Sirius because he felt it was too complicated to explain, but he was terribly worried about his friend. He didn't like him at that house anyways, and now that he wasn't responding to any of their owls Remus was in a perpetual state of fear that something had happened to him. He wanted to do something, but he felt helpless, a feeling he had grown to detest. He just wished he was with his friends so he wouldn't have to be helpless alone.

"What do you want for lunch?" Mrs. Lupin asked, oblivious to her son's struggles. "I could make pasta."

Remus said that was fine, and set to work bandaging his many cuts. The kitchen fell into a comfortable silence, uninterrupted until-

"Oof!"

A loud scuffle came from the living room. Mrs. Lupin dropped the spoon she was holding and it clattered to the tiles. Remus leapt up from his seat, frowning at the doorway.

Holding up a hand for his mother to stay put, he drew out his wand and slowly crept towards it. A thousand different scenarios rushed through his head- what if it was a burglar? A murderer? Was it one of the local kids, sneaking in on a dare?

He was unprepared for the sight that met his eyes. "James?" he asked when he had reached the doorway, dropping his wand to his side and staring.

"Remy!" James was splayed out on Remus's living room floor, looking dazed.

Remus didn't move to help him, still stunned. It was weird seeing one of his best friends in his living room, like two worlds colliding. He felt vaguely uncomfortable.

The fireplace roared with green flames, and another figure shot out and landed right on top of James.

"Oh. Hello, Remus," Peter said, blinking at his friend. He was sitting on top of James's back.

"Peter, get off me!" James said, his voice muffled by the carpet.

Remus shook his head, stunned. "What… what are you doing here?"

"Remus?" Mrs. Lupin was standing behind him. "Who is it?"

"Oh- oh, don't worry, Mum, it's just my roommates." Snapping out of his daze, Remus hurried forward and helped the two of them to their feet.

"Remy!" James said again when he was on his feet, throwing his arms around Remus in a huge hug. Remus winced and James quickly pulled away, an apologetic expression on his face. Then he turned to Mrs. Lupin, who was staring with wide eyes. "Hi, Mrs. Lupin," he said with a charismatic smile. "Terribly sorry for the intrusion, but we really needed to talk to Remus. I hope you don't mind."

Mrs. Lupin didn't seem to know what to say. She looked back and forth between all the boys. "Oh, well… of course not. But, Remus…"

Remus knew she was worried about his injuries. He hurried over and helped guide her back into the kitchen, waving his hands at his friends to make them stay put. "It's okay, Mum," he assured her, "really. I really need to talk to them."

He picked up the spoon Mrs. Lupin had dropped and tossed it into the sink. Mrs. Lupin nodded slightly. "Well… if you're sure," she said, her voice doubtful. "Let me know if you need help."

"I will," Remus said. Then he hurried back out to his friends, who were staring around at the tiny, dark living room. There was a pile of ash in front of the fireplace now.

"This is your house?" James asked, looking around curiously.

Remus flushed, embarrassed. It was nothing compared to James's mansion of a house, and he knew it. "Yes," he muttered. "Come on, let's go up to my room so we can talk."

He led them up the narrow stairs to his bedroom, one of two in the house. It was small, comprised of a bed, wardrobe, and a bedside table. His trunk lay in the corner, and books were stacked on almost every spare surface- old and new, collected over several years. There was a tower on his bedside table, and they were spilling out of his wardrobe, which was half-hanging open to show a row of neatly hung shirts and pants. Remus silently thanked everything out there that he was a naturally neat person and his room wasn't a total mess.

James whistled. "Planning to start a library, are you, Remus?" He hopped onto Remus's bed, followed by Peter. Remus wheeled a chair he hardly ever used out of the corner and sat down, uncomfortable. It was strange to see his friends sitting there on his bed; no one but him and his mother had ever been in his room before.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked. "You nearly gave me and my mother a heart attack."

"We're here to take you back to my house," James said. "We figured if we actually showed up your mom would have to let you come. Ta-da!"

"I had no part in this," Peter said quickly when Remus looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"How do you feel?" James asked. He looked at Remus's arms, which were only half bandaged. Remus tried to hide them, embarrassed.

"Fine," he said. "Last night was pretty good, considering how worried I am."

"Ah. Yes. That's what I wanted to talk about." James leaned forward. "We need to go rescue Sirius."

"Rescue him?"

"Yes, that's what I said. He hasn't been responding to any of us, and I'm officially worried. Come on, if we go now we could grab him and get back before my parents get home."

James's eyes glowed with determination behind his glasses, but Remus shook his head. "James, we can't- we can't just _walk_ into the Black household. For one thing there's probably dozens of defenses set up, and his family would probably kill us. They hate your family because you guys like Muggles, Peter's a halfblood, and I'm a bloody _werewolf._ Do you realize how bad it would be if we just showed up?"

"Well, we can't just sit here!" James said, glaring at him. "I'm going crazy!"

"So am I!" Remus said, "But I'm not about to do something stupid!"

"Let me tell you something-"

"Guys, stop," Peter begged. "We need to do something."

James sat back, deflated. He stared at his lap. "I'm sorry, Remus," he said. "I know you're tired. I'm just… I'm scared."

"No, I'm sorry," Remus said with a sigh, running a hand over his face. "I'm scared, too. I wish he would just respond to us."

"What if he can't?" James asked, his eyebrows drawn together.

"Let's not jump to conclusions."

"I'm not! It's been three weeks without a word from him, what if he can't respond to us? Merlin, what if he's-"

"Don't, James," Remus said before he could say something none of them wanted to hear. He buried his face in his hands. "What do your parents say?"

"They're worried, too," James said. "They said they would give it another few days and then write to his parents- but I don't think that will help."

"James," Remus said, "I think it's best we just listen to your mom and dad. They know the Black family; they know what they're doing. What if we do something that just gets Sirius into more trouble?"

James opened his mouth to say something, then hesitated. "I hadn't thought of that."

Remus tried to smile supportively at his two friends. "He'll be okay," he said, not quite believing it himself but hoping to alleviate their fears a bit. "He's Sirius, remember?"

James drew his knees to his chest and buried his face in them. For a while none of them spoke; then, a knock at the door made them jump.

"Do you boys need anything?" Mrs. Lupin asked, poking her head inside. She looked worried.

James smiled as though nothing was wrong. "Oh, no thank you, Mrs. Lupin. My parents were just wondering if Remus could come over to stay with us now? I know he's supposed to come in a few days, but they found this really neat restaurant that we have reservations for tonight, and we wanted him to join us."

"Oh- oh, I don't know," Mrs. Lupin said with a frown.

"That would be awesome!" Remus spoke up. He turned to his mother, his eyes as wide and hopeful as he could possibly make them. "Can I, Mum?"

She hesitated, then slumped her shoulders, defeated. She smiled. "Yes, I suppose you can."

All three of the boys lit up. Remus got to his feet to hug his mother.

"Thanks," he whispered.

James and Peter helped him pack and they were done within ten minutes. Remus hadn't really unpacked from school, but had just been grabbing things out as he'd needed them, making it easy to throw the few things he needed back into the trunk. Soon they were standing in his living room and Mrs. Lupin was hugging her son goodbye.

"Have a nice time," she said as she squeezed him. "Write me at least once a week, keep me updated- and have a lovely term."

"I will, Mum," Remus said, pulling away. "Thank you."

James and Peter waved cheerily goodbye and then grabbed Remus's trunk before the tired boy could stop them. "Potter household!" They hopped in, disappearing.

Remus grabbed a bit of Floo Powder off the tray on the mantle. With one last smile at his mother, who was clutching her apron nervously as she watched her son leave, he tossed it in. "Potter household."

Remus stumbled out of the fireplace and tripped, landing on the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop the world from spinning. The trip had taken any energy he had left over from last night, leaving him almost unable to get up.

With a groan, he slowly sat up and opened his eyes to find James and Peter staring at him with wide eyes. Behind them, Mr. and Mrs. Potter were standing there, their arms crossed angrily.

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"-don't know what you were thinking!" Mrs. Potter shouted at James. He, Remus, and Peter were seated on the couch, staring at their feet while Mrs. Potter paced back and forth in front of them. Mr. Potter was sitting in the armchair, flipping through the newspaper. He seemed to have gotten over the whole thing rather quickly, but his wife was just getting started.

"We were just visiting Remus, Mum," James said.

"Without telling anyone where you went! You could have been anywhere! I got home and the house was completely empty, do you know what I thought? Do you know what's going on right now?" She stopped suddenly, her eyes wide. Mr. Potter looked up from his paper, shaking his head at her as though to remind her to be quiet.

All three boys frowned. "What are you talking about?" James asked.

Mrs. Potter glared at him. "Nothing. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Potter," Remus said quietly, feeling quite responsible for the whole matter. If James and Peter hadn't gone to visit him, they wouldn't be in trouble now.

Mrs. Potter's gaze softened. "Oh, no, Remus, dear, I don't blame you for any of this. You didn't ask for them to sneak out and visit you. They did it all on their own." She turned a glare back on James, who sighed.

"I'm sorry, Mum. I won't do it again."

Mrs. Potter huffed. "Good. Now, go on, help Remus unpack. And _don't_ do this again."

James and Peter turned and hightailed it out of the room, grabbing Remus's trunk along the way. Remus got to his feet.

"Don't be mistaken, Remus," Mrs. Potter said before he could leave, "we're very happy you're here early. Merlin knows James needs you, he's been so worried. We're all worried." She frowned at Mr. Potter, then tried to smile again. "How do you feel, dear? I know last night was the full moon."

"I feel fine, Mrs. Potter," Remus said. "Thank you so much for letting me stay here."

"Of course, dear, of course. Go on, now, I'm sure James is getting antsy."

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They spent the rest of the afternoon helping Remus unpack his stuff and discussing different tactics to rescue Sirius. James suggested mailing him a giant box and then telling him to ship himself to them. Remus had just sighed at that one.

To celebrate Remus's arrival Mrs. Potter cooked up a huge feast and they had a lovely dinner, letting themselves relax for the first time in a while. James perked up considerably now that Remus were there and they spent the evening stuffing their faces and then playing a game of Exploding Snap by the fire. Mr. and Mrs. Potter retired to their bedrooms early, and the boys only lasted a while longer before they decided to turn in as well.

"Night, guys," James said as they all slipped into their respective bedrooms.

"Goodnight." Remus shut his door and turned around, sighing. He was exhausted. Happy, of course, but exhausted, and looking forward to a good night's sleep before having to deal with what promised to be another crazy day tomorrow.

Remus felt quite at home in the guest room, as he had spent all his previous visits there, and changed into his pajamas quickly so he could crawl into bed. With a relaxed sigh, he pulled up the covers and shut his eyes.

The door clicked open. "Remus?" Peter squeaked.

Remus sat up with a start. He had dozed off and was now very disoriented; the room was pitch black, the only light coming from the cracked door. Peter was sticking his head in the room, and Remus could just make out very wide eyes.

Remus sat up with a yawn. "Peter?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Remus, there was a sound from the living room," Peter whispered, sounding frightened. "I don't know what it is."

"It's probably Mr. or Mrs. Potter," Remus said, still half asleep.

"But what if it's not?"

Remus sighed, knowing that Peter wasn't going to relax until he was sure he was safe. Getting to his feet, he shuffled through the darkness and opened the door wider. Peter stepped back into the hall, staring towards the living room.

"Peter-"

He was interrupted by a loud bang. Remus jumped, staring down the hall, and Peter moaned. "There it is again!" he said.

"What was that?" James's door cracked open and the boy shuffled out, looking barely awake. His glasses had been jammed quickly onto his face, and his hair was sticking up in all directions.

"I don't know," Remus said, his heart beating. "Peter woke me up."

"What if it's a monster?" Peter squeaked, hiding behind Remus.

"Don't be silly," James said, walking forward. There was a low shuffling sound and a groan from the living room and he stopped dead. "Remus?" he asked nervously.

Remus sighed and started walking forward. The other two boys followed behind him, looking as though they were going to be sick. Remus cautiously poked his head out into the living room to find the fire still going, pale orange and low in the grate. In front of it was a person, barely illuminated by the firelight, stooped over something. Behind him, Peter gripped James, swaying where he stood.

Taking a deep breath, Remus flicked on the light switch, lighting the room up. The figure hissed and threw its hands over its face. "Ouch!" it said.

Remus's breath caught. "Sirius?"

 **A/N: Welcome to Year 3! I have a lot of plans for this one, so I'm very excited. I'm also heading on vacation tomorrow so I wanted to get this one up before I leave just in case I don't have the cance to update there.**

 **Please remember to follow this story to get new updates, and leave a review telling me what you think is going to happen. Thanks for reading!**

 **-Kayla**


	2. Late Night Arrival

**Trigger Warning** : Mentions of abuse. Please don't read ahead if you're sensitive to that.

 **Chapter 2: Late Night Arrival**

Sirius rubbed his eyes, grimacing in the sudden light. "What was that for?"

"Sirius!" James ran forward and leapt at his friend, knocking him over. Sirius fell to the ground with a muffled shout, trying to struggle out of James's attack hug.

"Ouch!" he repeated. "James!"

Remus ran forward and helped the two get up. Peter was clutching the back of the sofa, still breathing heavily but looking a bit better now that he knew he wasn't about to be brutally murdered.

"Sirius Black, you nearly frightened us to death!" James said, glaring. "Now, where in the name of Merlin's pants have you been? Do you have any idea how- hey… what happened to your face?"

Sirius turned away from them. "Nothing," he said, bending back over his trunk.

"Sirius-" Remus tried to grab Sirius's arm, but his friend flinched away from him. Remus pulled back, confused.

"Sirius," James said, his eyes wide. "What happened?"

Sirius turned back around, looking exhausted. His entire cheek was swelled up with a black-and-blue bruise; it looked terribly painful. He opened his mouth to say something, but when nothing came out he covered his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice shaky and muffled. "I'm sorry for showing up like this. I was fighting with my mother and then she said I should just leave now so I grabbed my trunk and hopped in the fire and this was the only place I could think to come to and I'm so so sorry but-"

James came forward and put his hands over Sirius's wrists. He slowly pulled them away to see Sirius's face, his eyes wide and concerned. "Sirius," he said quietly, "what happened to your face?"

Sirius stared at him, his lips parted slightly, and then shut them again, looking down.

Remus squeezed his eyes shut, feeling suddenly sick. "Oh my god."

Sirius looked at him over James's shoulder, confused. "I thought you weren't supposed to get here until next week," he said.

"Don't try and change the subject," James said, "tell us what happened."

Sirius looked between all his friends, and they were surprised to see tears starting to brim in his eyes. "I- I-"

"I'm waking my parents," James said.

Sirius's reaction was immediate. "No!" he exclaimed.

"My mom can help you with that bruise, Sirius."

"No, please, James," Sirius pleaded. "Not right now. I don't want- I just want-"

He buried his face again. James stared at him, seemingly at a loss for what to do.

"We should go to your room, James," Remus said, knowing that Sirius was probably very uncomfortable just standing there. He came forward and grabbed one end of Sirius's trunk, motioning for Peter to help him. They followed after James, who was leading Sirius down the hall and into his bedroom.

After Peter and Remus had stuck Sirius's trunk in the last empty guest room they returned to James's bedroom. Sirius was seated on James's bed in the corner, his knees drawn up to his chest. James was sitting next to him, worried.

"Sirius, are you alright?" Remus asked, walking over and sitting on the bed as well. Peter took a seat in James's desk chair.

"I'm fine," Sirius muttered, his head down. His long hair covered his face like a curtain, hiding his bruise from view.

"No, you're not," James said. "Why haven't you been responding to our owls? We've been really worried about you."

Sirius sighed heavily, still not meeting any of their eyes. "My parents didn't let me send or receive mail," he said. "We had a fight when I got home about Gryffindor and they grounded me. I saw your letters arriving but they burned them before I could read them. I'm sorry."

"And what happened to your cheek?" James pushed, oblivious.

Remus hesitated, wondering if he should speak up. "James…" he said quietly.

James stared at him. "What?"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Sirius-" Remus said.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Sirius said, glaring at him. "Would you all just shut up for thirty seconds?"

They all fell silent. Sirius didn't look at them, breathing heavily, and they let him have his moment.

Finally, he spoke. "You family's different from mine, James," he said, his voice quiet. "Most Pureblood families… well, my parents still have a lot of the old traditions, and they like to enforce them when it comes to punishments. They say it's effective. That it teaches discipline." He ducked his head so he wouldn't see their reactions.

James's eyes lit up with realization. "Oh… oh, no, Sirius…" Remus, who had already guessed it, was staring at him sadly. Peter was looking back and forth between all of them with big, scared eyes.

"Oh, Merlin," James said, "they _hit_ you again." They had already known that it happened occasionally, but Sirius was always so upbeat they had nearly forgotten about it over the past year.

Sirius didn't acknowledge him. "I'm sorry I scared you guys."

"It's not your fault," Remus said. "Don't… are you hurt?"

"Just my cheek," Sirius said. "Regulus told Mother about that trick we played on the first years a few days ago. She wasn't very happy."

"Don't lie to us, Sirius," James said, "are you hurt anywhere else?"

Sirius didn't meet his eyes. "No."

James sighed heavily. "Alright. Shirt off."

Sirius frowned. "Excuse me?" He was wearing a long sleeve black jumper that nearly covered his hands, and didn't look prepared to take it off.

"You heard me. Inspection time. Shirt off."

"No."

"Don't fight me on this, Sirius, or I'll-"

"You'll what- hit me?" Sirius snarled at him.

James stared at him, looking shocked. Sirius held the glare a moment longer and then let it drop, already regretting his temper.

"James, I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" he dropped his head. "Sorry."

James didn't say anything. "Sirius," Remus said, his voice soft, "would you let us help you?"

Sirius looked up at Remus, meeting his eyes for the first time last night. There were dark bags under his eyes; he looked tired and defeated.

With a sigh, he shifted, reaching down and pulling up his shirt. As he lifted it over his head he winced, his face pinching together with pain, and then pulled off the jumper.

James frowned, staring at his friend's chest. There was a huge bruise on his rib cage, and quite a few more up and down his arms, specifically on his forearms. Hesitantly, James reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling it toward him to examine it closer. Sirius stared determinedly at the wall, his face impassive.

"Peter, would you go get a few bags of ice?" Remus asked. Peter quickly jumped off his seat and ran out of the room.

"Sirius…" James muttered. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, I'm used to it," Sirius said, pulling his arm away. "Like I said, it happens all the time in the dark Pureblood families."

"You shouldn't be used to it," Remus said, shaking his head. "No one should be used to that."

"You're one to talk," Sirius said, trying to twitch his lips into a smile but failing miserably. "Look at your arms."

"That's completely different and you know that," Remus said.

"I'm going to kill your family," James said as Peter slipped back into the room, carrying a few small plastic baggies full of ice. "I'm marching right back through that fire and killing them."

"No, you're not," Sirius said tiredly, leaning back against the wall. Peter handed off the bags to Remus, who turned to Sirius and pressed one against his cheek.

"Hold this here," he instructed. Sirius, too tired to fight, lifted his hand to press it against his cheek, letting out a small hiss of pain. Remus gently set the other against Sirius's ribs, already having picked out those two as the ones that needed the most treatment. Remus knew all about bruises.

"My parents-" James said.

"Your parents aren't going to know anything," Sirius said, his eyes shut. The ice was numbing the bruises, and although it was cold, it felt good. "My parents hardly let me come here as it is. If your parents said anything to them, I'd be locked up in my bedroom with a pile of dark magic books all summer and I'd never see the sunlight."

James frowned. "But… what are we supposed to do?"

"You're supposed to do nothing," Sirius said. "I've been dealing with this my whole life; I can deal with it for another few years."

"You are not going back there!" James said, sitting up straighter.

"Yes, I am," Sirius said. "Don't look at me like that, James; what am I going to do, live at Hogwarts?"

"You'll stay here," James announced.

Sirius opened his eyes, looking fully aware for the first time all night. "What?"

"You'll stay here," James repeated. "What do you think I'd do, let you live on the streets?"

Sirius frowned. "They'd come and find me," he said, "and then I'd really be in trouble."

"My parents would beat them up," James said, confident. "Trust me, if they knew… my mom would throw a hissy fit. Like I said, in her head she's already adopted you. You too, Remus," he added. "She'll adopt anyone who needs help."

"I don't need help," said Sirius. James rolled his eyes but didn't push it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Remus asked, still pressing the ice against Sirius's ribs. He shifted the bag slightly and Sirius winced again, drawing away slightly.

"No."

"It feels better to talk about it," Remus said. "Trust me, I know."

Sirius looked at Remus, half of his face hid by the ice pack. He blinked a few times, his eyes shiny, then turned away with a sniff. "I'm fine."

"Sirius, you're allowed to cry," James said, his face filled with worry for his friend. He was staring at him, a helpless look on his face.

Sirius laughed slightly, but it was hollow. "Blacks don't cry," he said, "it's a sign of weakness." At his friends' stares, he said, "My father taught me that when I was four."

"Sirius," James said, his voice uncharacteristically serious. He waited until his friend met his eyes. "You're allowed to cry."

Sirius stared at him. Then, his bottom lip started trembling, his eyes filling with tears. James wrapped his arms around him as Sirius dropped the ice pack and, for the first time in his life, started crying.

Remus grabbed both the ice packs and set them on James's desk, out of the way. Sirius buried his face in James's shoulder, his sobs nearly silent but terrible to watch, especially as they'd never seen him do it before. James shifted so that Sirius would be more comfortable and met Remus's eyes. Remus smiled sadly at him and put his hand lightly on Sirius's shoulder to show his support. After everything Sirius had done for him, everything he had been through, he owed him that much. Peter sat there, staring at the ground to give him as much privacy as possible.

Sirius cried for a very long time, and they let him, none of them moving while he let his emotions out. Every once in a while James or Remus would say something like, "You're okay, Sirius, it's okay," and he would just cry harder.

Nearly ten minutes later Sirius's sobs subsided into sniffles, and he pulled away. James's shirt was soaked, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Sorry," Sirius said, sniffing loudly.

"Don't you dare apologize," Remus said. When Sirius looked up at him he smiled and handed Sirius his jumper.

Hands shaking, Sirius pulled his shirt back on, seeming to relax once his bruises were covered again. He rubbed his eyes, which were rimmed with red.

"You need to sleep," Remus said, seeing how exhausted Sirius was.

Sirius took a deep breath and then nodded heavily. He started to get out of bed, but James put his hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him back down. "No, you stay here," he said.

It was a testament to how truly exhausted Sirius was that he didn't argue, but collapsed back against James's pillows with a sigh. Remus slid off the bed and James followed his lead, pulling the covers up over Sirius. He turned to leave but Sirius, half asleep, reached out and grabbed his wrist. James turned back around to see his friend frowning and struggling to find words.

"I'll come back," James said. "I'm not leaving you here alone."

Sirius let go of James. The three boys quietly left the room, meeting in the hall and shutting the door behind them.

"It's a miracle my parents didn't wake up," James said quietly. He let out a deep breath, running a hand over his face. He looked dead on his feet. "Wow."

"I know," Remus murmured.

"I mean- wow," James said, "I didn't think... I should have-"

"You did everything you possibly could have," Remus assured him. "You're an amazing friend, James."

James smiled grimly at him. "Could I borrow one of your pillows?" he asked. "I'm going to kip on the floor next to him."

"So am I," Remus said, opening his door. "Come on, help me with the blankets."

All three of them worked to disassemble the three guest bedroom beds and crept back and forth between them and James's bedroom, arranging them into three messy beds. Sirius watched them through half-closed eyes, still sniffing every once in a while.

A few minutes later all three of them dropped to the ground, curling up in their makeshift beds. James turned the lights off, plunging the room into darkness.

"Goodnight," he whispered. Remus and Peter responded similarly, and after a moment, a hoarse voice croaked, "Thank you."

Remus hummed in acknowledgement and shut his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mrs. Potter woke up much later than usual, to her surprise. Normally she woke up quite early, and if she did happen to sleep in she was woken by James or one of his friends as they wandered around the kitchen searching for food. When she got up and found that it was nearly noon, she frowned and got out of bed.

Her husband had already gone to work. She expected to find James, Peter, and Remus in the living room or kitchen, but the house was deserted. Confused, she walked quietly down the hall to James's room and pushed open the door. What she saw left her stunned.

Tangled in a pile of blankets on the floor were James, Remus, and Peter. It looked as though they had stripped every bedroom in the house to create a little makeshift nest. And on the bed was… Sirius? The boy was curled into a ball on the bed, his back to Mrs. Potter. She only recognized him from his hair.

Mrs. Potter frowned but shut the door. She had no idea what was going on, but she decided to let them rest. Whatever had happened, they must be exhausted.

She would get some answers once they woke up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Can't you just do it, Remus?" Sirius pleaded.

The four boys were still in James's bedroom. James was surprised that his mother hadn't come in and woken them up yet, as it was already after noon. They had all had a good lie in after last night. James had been the first to wake up, and his movements had woken Remus and Peter. They had tried to keep quiet to give Sirius some more rest, but the other boy had stirred almost immediately afterward.

Now he was trying to convince them that he didn't need his bruises healed.

"No magic outside of Hogwarts," Remus said. "Besides, Mrs. Potter will know what she's doing. It's a simple spell; it'll only take a minute."

Sirius frowned. "Fine," he muttered. "But only my cheek. And I'm telling her that I got it in a flying accident playing Quidditch at home, and you all aren't going to say a word."

"Sirius," James sighed.

"Don't fight me on this, Potter," Sirius said, getting out of bed.

The three boys watched him carefully as he stood, stretched, winced, and then turned and started making the bed. After a few moments he spun around and glared at them.

"You don't have to watch me like I'm some wounded puppy," he snapped at them.

Remus blinked. "We weren't. We were just-"

"Yeah, I know what you were doing," he muttered, tossing the pillow back onto the bed. "I'm going to get changed."

He stomped out of the room. His friends watched him go, and when he was gone, James sighed heavily and pressed his palms to his eyes.

"How are we going to fix this?" he asked, mostly to himself.

The three boys got up and went out to the kitchen, following the scent of breakfast. Mrs. Potter was standing over the stove, cooking one of the biggest breakfasts they'd ever seen. Plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and potatoes sat on the table, still steaming, and she was currently flipping pancakes.

"Good morning," she said, not turning to them. "I was wondering when you all were going to wake up."

"We slept in," James said, staring at all the food.

"I know."

"What's with the huge breakfast?" James asked, walking over and sniffing the bacon.

Mrs. Potter turned around and raised her eyebrows. She crossed her arms, spatula still in hand. "I'm under the impression that someone joined us last night."

James stood up quickly. "Oh. Yes. Um, Sirius showed up last night. His family said he could come early, but he misjudged the time."

Mrs. Potter fixed him in a steely gaze. "Hmm," is all she said, before turning back around and flipping the pancakes. "Peter, Remus, grab a plate and sit down, dears. Help yourself. James, could you grab the orange juice?"

Peter and Remus were seated and starting on their food when Sirius emerged in the kitchen, walking very slowly. He was wearing a new maroon jumper and looked hesitant.

Mrs. Potter flipped a pancake and smiled over her shoulder. "I'm so glad you could join us, Sirius, dear. Are you- Merlin, what happened?" She dropped her spatula and ran forward to Sirius. Sirius tried to draw away from her but Mrs. Potter gently grabbed his chin and inspected his cheek from all angles, worried.

"Quidditch accident," Sirius muttered, pulling away. He smiled for the first time since he had gotten there. "Sorry to drop in like this, Mrs. Potter."

"Don't be silly, dear. Here-" she hurried over to the counter, where she had left her wand, and turned around. "I'll fix that up for you. It's a wonder your parents didn't… " She waved her wand and Sirius hissed in pain, clapping a hand to his cheek. "I'm sorry, dear, but it should feel better now."

Sirius lifted his hand. His cheek was completely healed, and he looked like himself again. "Thank you, Mrs. Potter," he said quietly.

"Of course. Come, come, grab a plate and take as much as you like-"

Mrs. Potter hovered over Sirius, making him take two scoopfuls of eggs instead of one, four pancakes instead of two. When he finally got to the table he was laden with more food than anyone else, and sat down without looking at his friends.

"Thanks," he muttered when James handed him a glass of orange juice.

"How has your summer been so far, Sirius?" Mrs. Potter asked, pouring the last of the pancake batter onto the pan.

"It's been great, Mrs. Potter," Sirius said, his voice lacking its usual buoyancy.

"I understand you've been very busy, huh?" Mrs. Potter asked. "James tells me you haven't been able to respond to a lot of his owls."

"Yeah, I've been occupied," Sirius said, stabbing at his eggs.

No one said anything the rest of breakfast. Sirius took a few bites of food and then sat there politely, waiting for everyone to finish. When Mrs. Potter cleared the plates, she frowned at Sirius's full one but didn't say anything.

"We're going to get changed and then maybe we'll go for a walk or something, Mum," James said, getting to his feet. "Thanks for breakfast."

The boys chorused their thanks, which Mrs. Potter waved away with a smile. As they left she frowned worriedly at Sirius's back. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't want to press any of them if they didn't want to talk about it. Still, she wished there was something she could do.

"Let's go to the park," James said as they walked back to their rooms.

"I think I'm going to take a nap," Sirius said, walking ahead of them.

"But we slept for ages!" James said.

"I'm tired," Sirius snapped, opening the door to his guest bedroom and stepping inside. His friends stared at each other as he slammed the door shut.

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. "He's not making it easy to be there for him."

"No, but we're not gonna stop," James growled, starting towards Sirius's door. Peter grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Maybe he needs some time alone," he said, nervous.

"He's been alone all summer," Remus said, brushing past them. "He needs us." He knocked on Sirius's door.

"Go away," Sirius called.

Remus opened the door. "Do you want to go to the park?"

Sirius slammed his trunk shut and glared at him. "No, I said I was going to take a nap. Would you all bugger off?"

"No, we're not going to 'bugger off'," Remus said, glaring back at him. "We're trying to help you."

"I don't need help!" Sirius shouted.

"Yes, you do!" Remus shouted back at him. "And if you would stop biting our heads off you'd be able to see that!"

Sirius narrowed his eyes at him and turned around, refusing to look at him. Remus felt James and Peter creep up behind him but ignored them, walking forward and putting a hand on Sirius's shoulder. Sirius pulled away.

"Sirius, please," Remus pleaded. "We just want to help you."

Sirius didn't look at him. "You have helped me," he muttered.

Remus smiled a bit. Sirius ran both his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath, and when he turned back around he wasn't angry anymore.

"How far is that park?" he asked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The 'park' turned out to be a little square of public grass up the street, comprising of a total of six trees and three benches. It was peaceful, though, and quiet, and the boys sat down on the grass and laid on their backs, staring up at the sky.

"How was the full moon, Remus?" Sirius asked.

"It was fine. The usual," Remus said.

"And how's your mom?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, she's fine as well. She was nervous about me coming, of course."

"Yeah, no one's told me about that yet; I thought you weren't supposed to get here until, like, a week after the full moon?"

"I wasn't, but James and Peter snuck into my house."

Sirius frowned. "What?"

"We were worried about you and wanted to make a battle plan, so we Flooed over to Remus's," James said. "Finally saw that house of his."

"Oh yeah? What's it like?" Sirius asked.

"It has lots of books in it," James said.

Sirius snorted. "Of course."

"I'm literally sitting right here," Remus said.

"Anyways, we convinced his mom to let him go," James said. "He just got here yesterday."

"I have impeccable timing, then," Sirius said.

They didn't talk much after that. Everyone was wrapped up in their own thoughts, and when it started to get dark out they helped each other up and headed back to the Potter household.

Mr. Potter didn't question why Sirius was at dinner, but greeted him with a smile and asked him to pass the pepper. Mrs. Potter had made steak that night, and watched over Sirius like a hawk to make sure he finished at least most of his plate. Sirius was in a much better mood, and actually laughed aloud at some of Mr. Potter's jokes, which relieved his friends.

After dinner they sat in the living room and played Exploding Snap again, which was much more fun with all of them there. Sirius was more relaxed than he'd been all day, and his friends were careful to keep the conversation light and fixed on happier things.

Mr. Potter went to bed early, and Mrs. Potter only followed him when Sirius assured her that he had enough pillows and blankets in his room. When she finally did leave after hugging them each (Sirius twice), they sat in the living room awkwardly.

"Tired?" James asked the group.

Sirius nodded, picking at the carpet.

"Exhausted," Remus said, getting to his feet. "I'm ready for bed."

They all went to their rooms and got changed into their pajamas. Once he had changed, James wandered over to Sirius's room and knocked. After a second his friend poked his head out.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Listen, Sirius, do you… do you want us to stay with you again tonight?" James asked.

Sirius hesitated, then shook his head, a tiny smile on his face. "No, I'm good. Go on to bed."

James smiled. "Alright."

Sirius shut the door and turned around, facing the empty, silent room. He took a deep breath, running his hands over his arms. If he shut his eyes it was almost as if he was back in his room on the second floor of his room, Kreacher muttering about how he brought dishonor to his family just outside the door-

His eyes shot open in sudden panic. Spinning around, he grabbed for the doorknob and threw it open, words already forming on his lips, only to find James still standing there, his arms crossed. Sirius blinked a few times, the words knocked out of him.

"Prick," James said. "I'll go grab my blankets."

He turned and marched away. Sirius smiled slightly, turning around and crawling back into his bed. He drew his knees to his chest and didn't speak as James, Remus, and Peter walked in and out, dropping their makeshift beds on the floor.

When they were all settled, Sirius felt himself relax. Now, with the sounds of other friendly human beings in the room, when he closed his eyes it felt like his dorm room at Hogwarts.

It felt like home.

 **A/N: Yowzah, that was an intense chapter. My heart cries for Sirius, but I had to do it.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews on this story and the last one; each and every one makes me smile and means so much.**

 **And just for reference: This series is intended to be as canon as possible, and that includes all the pairings, so anyone wondering who's going to be with who, well, I won't be changing any of the stuff in the books. I wanted it to be my own take on what actually happened in their lives in the series, almost like a real prequel (although I'm still holding out hope JK will write their official story one day. I want it so _badly_ ). So, yeah, just so you know! **

**And yes, I am on vacation at my aunt's house, but it looks like I'll still have time to update! Yay!**

 **Thanks for reading! Remember to review, and have a lovely day.**

 **-Kayla**


	3. Good To Be Back

**Chapter 3: Good To Be Back**

For the last few weeks of summer the boys spent their days exploring James's neighborhood and playing new Muggle board games that Mr. Potter brought home every once in a while. They had a wonderful time with something called Monopoly, but were forced to give it up for a little while when tempers rose a bit too high between Remus and Sirius.

"Just make the trade!" Sirius shouted at him, clutching the property card. James and Peter sat on either side of them, looking back and forth between the two as though they were watching a tennis match.

"No! I'm not giving you Boardwalk for two railroads! What do you think I am, suicidal?" Remus asked.

"You'll own all four railroads, I'm offering you valuable resources!"

"You already own Park Place, if I give you Boardwalk you'll have hotels up in the blink of an eye," Remus snapped.

"Guys, keep your voices down," James said, looking towards the kitchen where his parents were, but Remus and Sirius were in a world of their own.

"Look, I'll throw in Illinois avenue," Sirius said, throwing a card at him. "That's the best you're going to get."

"I don't want it," Remus said, throwing the card back. "I'm going to buy another house."

"MAKE THE TRADE!" Sirius shouted, slamming his hands onto the board and causing all the pieces to shift.

"NO!"

"Are they going to do this every time we play?" Peter asked James as the two started shouting about the value of certain properties and how stupid the other was being.

"It seems like it," James said, exhausted. "Want to go get ice cream?"

"Sure," said Peter.

The two left to go to the kitchen as Sirius and Remus started throwing game pieces at each other, still shouting.

Despite the heated Monopoly games, things were quite happy around the Potter household. They hadn't said another word about Sirius's abuse, and he hadn't tried to bring it up, and after a few days they had deemed it safe to leave on his own for the night and returned to their own rooms. Every once in a while he would still wander into James's bedroom in the middle of the night, anxious and disoriented from a bad dream, and James would shift over to allow Sirius space on his bed for the night. James didn't say a word about it to the other boys, and if they noticed, they didn't either.

When the time came for them to pick their elective classes for the next year, they all sat down on the grass in James's backyard with cold drinks and went through their options.

"Divination sounds cool," James said, looking through the list. "I might take that."

"Well, I'm taking Muggle Studies, for sure," Sirius said, checking that off.

Remus frowned at him. "I didn't know you were interested in that class."

"I'm not. But it'll piss my mother off, so that's what I'm taking!" Sirius said. "What about Care of Magical Creatures, Remy? You'd do great in that class."

Remus snorted. "I've had enough of 'magical creatures' to last a lifetime. No, I'll stick to Arithmancy."

James and Sirius both wrinkled their noses. "Ah, Remy!" James said. "That's the most boring option on the list."

"Except for Ancient Runes," Sirius noted.

"That's my second choice," Remus said.

"Of course it is."

"Remus, consider this a sort of…" James waved his hand in the air. " _Intervention._ You can't take Arithmancy _and_ Ancient Runes. You'll be a social messiah."

"Pariah," Remus corrected.

"Sorry?"

"It's social pariah, not messiah."

"I think it's too late to save him," Sirius muttered. He ducked as Remus swung at him with his papers.

"Fine," James said, "a social _piranha._ The point is, you need to take one of the fun classes! Here," he said, grabbing Remus's paper, "I'm signing you up for Divination."

"What? No!" Remus said, trying to grab for it. "That's the silliest class in the school!"

"Are you telling me you don't believe in fortune telling?" James asked.

"No, I don't," Remus said. "That implies that the future is already written, when in reality, it's formed based on our choices and not some predestined clumping of stars. I'm not going to spend the rest of my time at Hogwarts trying to figure out what I'll get on my NEWTs based on Jupiter's orbit or something foolish like that."

"But you'll be able to see the future, Remus!" James said.

"Did you not hear anything I just said?"

"Well, I think it will be fun," Sirius said, grabbing Remus's paper from James and checking it off. "I'll take it, too. Peter, you in?"

"Yeah!" Peter said.

Remus rolled his eyes. "If I don't agree to take that stupid class, I'm not going to hear the end of it, am I?"

"Nope!" James and Sirius said together.

Remus pursed his lips and snatched his paper back. " _Fine_. But I'm still taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

"Three additional subjects? The minimum is two, Remus," said Sirius.

"I want to be challenged," Remus said.

"On your own head be it," said James. "You know, I think I'm going to take Muggle Studies, too."

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, well, you know. It's useful to know things about Muggles. We live so close to them, it's a bit silly to be so ignorant of them," James said, scratching something down on his paper.

"Oh, really?" Sirius asked. "So this has nothing to do with the fact that a certain Gryffindor girl is a Muggleborn and would be really impressed with the knowledge you pick up in that class?"

"Of course not," James snapped, still writing. His quill slowed. "Do you really think she'll be impressed?"

"James, you can't just take the class to impress Lily," Remus said. "Do something you'll actually enjoy!"

"Maybe I enjoy impressing Lily," James said.

"That's a sad hobby, mate," Sirius said.

"But maybe if she sees that I care about Muggles, she'll think I care more in general!" James said. He had obviously been thinking about this for quite a while. "And that'll lead her to notice how devilishly handsome I am, and how incredibly charming and-"

"I'm stopping this list right here," Sirius said. "Merlin, ever since you got your little crush it's been nothing _but_ lists with you. If I have to sit through ten more reasons why Lily's eyes are brighter than any emeralds-"

"You're just jealous because I've found love and you haven't," James said, sticking his nose in the air.

Sirius laughed. "It doesn't count if she hates you!"

"She does not hate me," James snapped. "Remus, tell him she doesn't hate me."

"No comment," Remus said, finishing off his paper.

James pouted as Sirius and Peter laughed, but resolutely marked down Muggle Studies has his second class.

Mrs. Potter took them back to school shopping a week before school started. She towed them around Diagon Alley for an hour, helping them pick up their books and potions supplies, and finally headed over to the robe shop.

"I don't need new robes, Mum," James complained as they trooped into the store.

"I know you don't, dear," Mrs. Potter said, ringing the bell at the counter. "We're here for Remus."

Remus, who had been busy looking through his new Divination book with a wrinkled nose, looked up quickly. "What?"

"I've seen your robes, dear, they need replacing," Mrs. Potter said.

Remus knew that his robes were pretty shabby. His mother had fished out his dad's old robes from the attic, and not only were they outdated and fraying, they were getting to be too small for him. The Lupins hardly had enough money for books and supplies, though; new robes were a luxury they would need to save up for.

"Oh- oh, no, Mrs. Potter, it's fine," he stammered, feeling his face go red. "I don't need new robes."

"Nonsense," said Mrs. Potter. "Don't you want to start the new year off with a new set of robes? Hogwarts uniform, please," she told the squat old witch who wandered up to the counter.

As the witch disappeared into the back to get her supplies, Mrs. Potter gestured for Remus to head back for sizing. Remus stood there, feeling very hot. His friends were staring at him, confused, as he struggled with what to say. How could he come out and say, "My family's so poor I haven't got money to pay for my robes?"

"Well, the thing is- see- I haven't got-" he stuttered. All of them watched him, looking a little worried at his struggle. He looked down at his feet with a sigh. "I can't afford new robes," he muttered.

Mrs. Potter's face softened. She came forward and placed a hand on Remus's shoulder, forcing him to look up.

"Don't worry about it, dear," she said. Remus thought that meant that they would leave, but she gave him a gentle push towards the witch, who was waiting impatiently with a tape measurer. Remus realized that she meant to pay for his robes, and immediately spun around.

"No, Mrs. Potter, it's okay, really," he said.

Mrs. Potter smiled. "I said not to worry about it, Remus. Go get sized."

The witch grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her, whipping out the measurer. Remus didn't look at his friends, who were standing in the corner, and stared determinedly at the ground as the witch measured his arms, legs, waist, neck- everything.

When she had finished, the witch once more went to the back and came out with a pair of fresh, new robes. As Mrs. Potter pulled out her purse and paid her ten galleons, Remus stood behind her, stammering out thanks.

"Please, Remus," Mrs. Potter said when she turned around, "it's my pleasure. Really." She patted him on the cheek and led the way out of the shop, leaving Remus to trail behind his friends.

After that, Mrs. Potter agreed to give them an hour to themselves for exploration while she finished up her own errands. Giving James a couple of galleons, she watched them turn around and dive back into the crowd.

"Finally," James said when they were out of her view. He clapped his hands together with a grin. "We're free."

Sirius slung his arm around Remus's shoulder. Remus was still embarrassed, and clutching his new robes with both hands.

"Stop looking so glum, chum," Sirius said, plucking the robes out of his hand and slipping them into Remus's bag, where they would be out of sight. "Where do you want to go first? Quidditch supplies? Ice cream?" He turned to James with a wide grin. "Gambol and Japes."

"The joke shop?" Peter asked.

"Perfect!" James exclaimed. "Come on."

They shoved their way through the crowd to the joke shop, which was full of Hogwarts students. Sirius and James waved to people as they walked in, immediately bee lining for the Fanged Frisbees, which were on sale.

Remus and Peter followed them around for a while as they loaded up their cart with Dungbombs, Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks, a pair of socks that attached to the wearer's feet and tickled them mercilessly, and a collection of other odd things Remus was afraid to ask about. After a while he got bored and tapped on their shoulders to get their attention.

James and Sirius turned around, a pair of fake fangs in their mouths.

James tried to say something, but ended up nearly spitting on Remus. Remus rolled his eyes.

"I'm heading over to Obscurus," he said, meaning the book store next door. "Come and find me once you guys are done."

Sirius and James looked disappointed, but returned to their shopping with vigor. Remus turned and weaved his way through the loud crowds, stepping out into the equally large street, and finally managing to duck into the quiet bookstore.

Remus felt himself relax as soon as he walked in. The musty smell of parchment filled the tiny store, and there were hardly any customers in there, so it was very quiet- just the way Remus liked it. He started on the far side of the shop and began weaving his way up and down the rows of books, running his finger along the spines and occasionally stopping to pull one down when it caught his eye.

He had been in there a good five minutes when the bell tinkled again, signaling that someone had come in. Since the bell wasn't accompanied with loud shouts or crashes, Remus knew it wasn't his friends, so he kept reading the back cover of a used book he had picked up, wishing that he had some spare money to buy it with.

"Remus?"

Remus looked up, startled, and a grin spread on his face. "Lily!"

The red-head beamed and walked over, giving him a big hug. Her hair was tied up in an elaborate bun atop her head, and she was wearing a pair of jeans and a yellow jumper. "Oh, I thought it was you! How have you been? How was your summer?"

"It's been great," Remus said. "How was yours?"

Lily's smile seemed to flicker, but she said, "It's been just fine. Find anything good in here?"

"Loads," Remus said. "I've already spent all my money, though, so I'm just looking around."

"Don't let the shopkeeper hear you say that," Lily said with a laugh, glancing at the cross old man sitting behind the counter. "He'll kick you out for loitering."

Remus laughed. The two started going up and down the aisles together, pulling down books at random and reading the summaries to each other.

"I'm trying to find something for my sister," Lily said. "Her birthday's coming up and I thought she might like a book."

"You have a sister?" Remus asked, surprised.

Lily grabbed a book about hexes off the shelf, glanced at it, then put it back. "Yes," she said. "We don't really get on, though. That's why I'm trying to find the perfect present."

"Oh," said Remus. He turned back to the shelf and frowned at it, picking up a book. "Oh, what about Hogwarts: A History? I read it before first year and it was incredibly fascinating."

Lily grimaced. "I would, but my sister… she doesn't really get magic. I don't think she would take kindly to that present."

"I think a magical book store is the wrong place to be then, Lily," Remus said, putting the book back.

Lily sighed. "I know, I know… I'm just running out of ideas for presents. We're not really close- I don't even know what she likes."

"I'm sorry," Remus said.

Lily smiled. "Don't be. It's no one's fault but hers. So, what about you? Are you here with your family?"

Remus hesitated. "Well-"

"Remus!"

Sirius, James, and Peter threw open the door to the shop and marched in. "We bought everything!" Sirius said, laughing. He had a pair of fake horns that glowed different colors on his head, and he was holding a bulging bag.

"With my money," James grumbled. When he spotted Lily he froze, his eyes going as wide as saucers behind his glasses.

"Oh, great," Lily muttered. "Thanks for the warning, Remus."

"Sorry," Remus said, struggling to hide a grin.

James's face broke into the biggest smile they had ever seen. "Lily!" he exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Fine," Lily said. "You know what, Remus, I think I'm going to head out and meet back up with my parents. I don't think I'll find anything here." She pushed past Sirius and James. "Bye," she said over her shoulder as she practically ran out the door.

"Bye, Lily!" James shouted a little too late, waving enigmatically at the door.

Sirius snickered. "I think you scared her off, mate."

James grinned at the closed door. "She digs me."

Remus sighed. Obviously James was not going to let this silly crush go. "Come on, guys," he said, pushing them towards the exit. He had just spotted the grouchy shopkeeper glaring at them, and didn't want to be kicked out. "We need to go meet Mrs. Potter."

"Did you see her hair?" James said on the way out. "I think it got redder and prettier over the summer."

"That's nice, James," Sirius said, giving him another shove.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The night before September first, Mrs. Potter made her customary feast. They had a great time at the dinner table, and James and Sirius even whipped out one of their new fireworks and gave them a demonstration in the living room while the others sipped hot chocolates.

Before they went to bed, Mr. Potter said, "Boys, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Mrs. Potter watched as he led them out of the living room to the hallway, a frown on her face.

The four boys lined up in front of Mr. Potter. The hallway was dark, with only a little bit of light coming from the living room, but they could make out Mr. Potter's face. He looked tired and a little bit hesitant.

"My wife doesn't think I should tell you this," he said finally. "But I think it's best you hear it from a reliable source before rumors start flying at school."

James frowned at his friends, as confused as they were, and stayed silent.

"There have been a few… mishaps this summer," Mr. Potter said. "The Ministry has been trying to keep it as quiet as possible, but word's starting to get out."

"What's happened?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing too big," Mr. Potter said. "A few Muggles were attacked in Derbyshire by a group of unknown wizards," he said. The boys couldn't hold back tiny gasps, and he grimaced. "And then one was killed in London by the same group."

"But why?" James asked.

"The Ministry doesn't know," Mr. Potter said, "but I doubt it's something to worry about. Probably just a group of Muggle extremists that decided it would be fun to get a group together. Things probably just went a little too far is all. But the point is, the Ministry is worried that there's someone stirring up trouble among the Dark Wizards, uniting them for something."

"For what?" asked Remus, his voice hushed. He was horrified by the idea of a wizard using his magic to kill _anyone,_ let alone defenseless Muggles who wouldn't even know what was going on.

"They don't know yet," Mr. Potter admitted. "Again, this whole thing will probably blow over, but I wanted you four to know in case you heard anything at Hogwarts. But don't go talking about it- there hasn't been a big report on it yet and the Ministry is trying to keep it that way."

After the four boys had sworn their secrecy, Mr. Potter sent them to bed. They were silent as they walked to their bedrooms, all of them lost in thought.

"Who would do that?" James finally asked.

"I don't know," Sirius said. "I mean, my family hates Muggles, but I don't think they would go so far as to kill."

"You don't think it'll happen again, do you?" whimpered Peter.

"Probably not," Remus said. "You heard Mr. Potter. This whole thing will probably blow over."

The others agreed, and they all said goodnight and went into their own rooms.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mrs. Potter drove them to the platform in the morning. They lugged their trunks through the station, through the platform, and onto the train, struggling under the weight of all of their extra books and the prank supplies Sirius and James had stashed in all of their trunks. Remus was especially irritated, because he hadn't realized they had hidden prank things in his trunk until they were halfway through the station and was miffed that they had snuck around behind his back so easily.

Mrs. Potter gave them all big hugs goodbye, making them promise to stay safe and be good this year.

"We will," the four chorused. Remus noticed James and Sirius had their fingers crossed behind their backs.

When Mrs. Potter hugged Remus, she whispered in his ear, "Good luck, dear."

Remus smiled, thanked her again for everything, and followed his friends onto the train.

They snagged their usual compartment in the very back of the train, the one they had first met in. As Remus sat down in his seat by the window, where he had hoped he would be left alone that very first day, he couldn't hold back a tiny smile. How different everything was, now. When Remus had started Hogwarts he had had no idea things would turn out so brilliantly for him.

Sirius and James whipped out Exploding Snap as soon as they sat down. Remus sighed, but he was still smiling.

"Haven't you two had enough of that game?" he asked.

"Enough of Exploding Snap?" James asked, scandalized. "Never!"

As the train blew its final whistle and pulled out of the station, they started up their first game. And they continued playing for the next few hours, until James's hair got singed by a few stray sparks and he threw the cards down, his hands flying to the top of his head.

"I've had enough of Exploding Snap!" he said, looking at his reflection in the mirror and trying to see the damage. "Oh, my hair!"

"You're acting like Sirius, James," Remus snickered. Sirius flicked a card at him.

They managed to calm James down and by that time the trolley witch had come around. They all chipped in to buy enough of everything to go around, and dumped their food on both of the seats. Before James shut the door, he caught sight of someone down the corridor, and fired a hex down.

"Ha!" he said, sliding the door shut and plopping back down in his seat.

"Who'd you get?" Sirius asked, unwrapping a pumpkin pasty.

"Snivellus," James said with a grin. "Never saw it coming."

Remus frowned but grabbed a box of jelly beans. He still felt uncomfortable about hexing Severus so much, but if he spoke up James and Sirius would just get annoyed, so he decided to stay quiet.

They spent the rest of the train ride talking, and Sirius, Remus, and Peter learned a number of things from James, including:

-Lily Evans's eyes were literally brighter than emeralds. He had gone to the library and looked up a picture of one for comparison, and it stood no match to her eyes.

-Lily Evans's favorite dessert is treacle tart. James had found that out at the feast the last day, because that was the only thing she had piled on her plate at dessert, and it would be crazy to get that much unless it was her favorite.

-Lily Evans's laugh could literally cure any illness. James was especially passionate about this one.

"If I hear the word Lily one more time-" Sirius muttered to Remus.

"Did you know Lily's owl's name is Beatrice? What a great name, huh?" James asked.

"Alright!" Sirius said. "James, you're no longer allowed to talk about Evans. If you want to talk about her so much, why don't you go and- I don't know- talk _to_ her?"

James went red. "Talk to her? No, no- I don't know where she's sitting, and I don't want to disturb her. I'm waiting till we get to school to make my move."

"Your last moves sent her sprinting out of a book store," Sirius said.

"I was caught off guard," James snapped. "Since when were you a girl expert?"

"Excuse you, I am _the_ girl expert," Sirius said, leaning back in his seat with a smirk. "The ladies love me."

"Ah, that explains why you've never had a girlfriend," James said.

"At least I'm not in love with a girl who hates my guts."

"She doesn't hate my guts!" James whined.

Remus laughed along with Sirius and Peter, but felt awkward. He had never thought about girls. Okay, that was a lie; he had, but he knew it was a waste of time. He was a werewolf, he would never be able to have a relationship. He couldn't risk anyone knowing his secret (anyone besides his three friends, of course) and he definitely didn't want a relationship based on lies. It was better to just stay away from the whole topic altogether, so he was glad when talk switched to the upcoming school year.

"I'm excited for Divination," James said. "It sounds cool."

"I'm excited for my mother to find out I'm taking Muggle Studies," Sirius said. "That's going to be one hell of a Howler. Maybe it'll give her a heart attack!"

James, Remus, and Peter glanced at each other.

"Sirius," Remus said, "before we get there, we just want to make sure… are you… you know…"

"Am I what?" Sirius asked, immediately defensive.

"Okay?" James finished for Remus, who was struggling. Remus looked at him gratefully.

Sirius frowned. "I'm fine. Why?"

"We just haven't talked about it since… you know, you got to my house," James said. "We're just checking in."

Sirius glanced out the window. It was getting dark outside. "You don't need to. I already told you everything."

"Yes, but do you feel alright?" Remus asked.

Sirius looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed. "Why wouldn't I feel alright?"

"You had a rough summer," James said.

"I had the same summer I do every year," Sirius said. "And then I got to your house and it got better. Can we just drop it? I told you, it's not a big deal, I was just kind of upset that night."

"It is a big deal," James started, but stopped when Sirius glared at him.

"I said drop it," Sirius snapped. He got up and started digging in his trunk. "Come on, we're almost there. We should get changed."

The boys pulled their robes on. Sirius changed quickly, not wanting them to make any more comments, but it was pointless. His bruises were nearly healed and barely visible now. Even his ribs were fine again.

When the train pulled into the station the boys shoved their sweets into their pockets and followed the rest of the students off the train. The platform was crowded with people shouting and meeting up with friends they hadn't seen on the train. Off to the side, an enormous man rose above the crowd, shouting, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Mind yer step, there-"

"Come on," James said, "let's say hi."

The four boys weaved through the crowd to Hagrid. A small group of first years were grouped in front of him, looking equal parts scared and excited.

"Hagrid!" James said, waving his hand in the air to get the giant man's attention.

Hagrid's face split into a grin when he saw the boys. "Thought I'd be seein' you four," he said. "Have a good summer?"

"Yup!" they all chorused.

"Good teh hear," Hagrid said. He straightened up, gaining another foot and making a first year jump at his sheer size. "Now then, Professor McGonagall told me teh tell you four that yer to report straight to the carriages," he said, sounding very important. "I'm teh keep yeh off the boats this year."

"No need to worry," Sirius said, "we learned our lesson last year. See you up at the castle!"

"Sure yeh did," Hagrid muttered as they turned and followed the rest of the students up to the big black carriages.

As it was their first time in them, the boys were very excited. When it lurched forward, seemingly of its own accord, James stuck his head over the side and looked down at the turning wheels. Remus pulled him back before he toppled over the edge and got run over.

"What pulls them?" James asked.

"Thestrals," Remus said. When his friends stared at him, he said, "What? I read about them."

"What are thestrals?" Sirius asked.

"Horses," Remus said. "But you can only see them if you've witnessed death. Otherwise they're invisible."

"Oh," said James. He frowned at the empty space in front of their carriage. "That sucks. They must get lonely."

"I'm sure Dumbledore takes great care of them," Remus said.

When they got up to the castle they followed the rest of the students into the Great Hall, which was lit up for the feast. Sirius and Remus beamed at each other when they walked in, both of them thinking the same thing: _home._

They took their seats at Gryffindor table and chatted with their housemates while they waited for the first years. At one point Professor McGonagall poked her head into the Hall, scanned the Gryffindor table, and, when she saw the four boys, she breathed a sigh of relief and disappeared again.

"Merlin, they're tiny," Sirius said as the first years trooped in. "We were never that small, were we? Aside from James, of course. He's still that tiny."

"Shut up," said James.

The Sorting Hat sang its song, a little diddy about the four founders, and they all clapped politely. Then they watched the first years get sorted, extremely interested. Last year they hadn't been able to really appreciate it, because they'd been too busy worrying about being caught up there.

Sirius rolled his eyes every time a student was sorted into Slytherin. Remus looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Sirius's brother Regulus sitting there. It always startled him how similar the two looked; Regulus's hair was cut shorter and he held himself straighter than Sirius did, but they had the same dark eyes and sharp features.

Currently, Regulus was staring at Sirius, who gagged as the Sorting Hat shouted, "Slytherin!" A frown passed his face. Then, he shifted his gaze and locked eyes with Remus, who quickly turned back to his table.

"Hey, look," James said, elbowing him. He nodded at the professor's table up front. "New Defense teacher."

A man Remus didn't recognize was sitting next to Professor Sprout. He was watching the Sorting with no expression on his hard face; his very features seemed to be chiseled out of rock, and his sharp black eyes were narrowed slightly.

"Oh, joy," said Sirius with a sigh. He had been extremely disappointed when they had replaced Professor Heathrow last year with a dumpy little witch that flitted around the classroom "like a stupid fairy," Sirius had complained the first day. Remus hadn't much liked her, either; she had never had a clear lesson plan in mind, and spent most of the class entertaining them with stories about her grandchildren.

"He's got to be an improvement," Remus said. "I'm sure he'll be great."

"Yeah, he looks like a ray of sunshine," James said.

After the Sorting, Dumbledore gave his customary warnings and reminders and they set to work on the feast. After they had eaten their fill of dinner and dessert, the students were dismissed, and the boys trailed after the rest of their house to the Common Room, hopping through the portrait.

When they reached their dormitory, which now read 'Third Years', James pushed the door open with a broad smile.

"It's good to be back," he said.

 **A/N: Hi everyone! I hope everyone in America had a wonderful July 4** **th** **!**

 **Thank you all so much for your continued support and reviews. They all mean a lot, and I read every single one of them, so don't be afraid to leave me one with any comments or questions! I try to respond to all questions.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **-Kayla**


	4. Grim Circumstances

**Warning: Bit of swearing in this chapter. The boys are 13, so it's going to be picking up from now on.**

 **Chapter Four: Grim Circumstances**

The next morning came faster than any of them anticipated, and by the time they had trooped into the Great Hall for breakfast James and Sirius had been complaining for ten minutes about classes starting. They sat down at the table and started piling food on their plate.

"I think we should have a week-long adjustment period," Sirius said. "You know, before classes, to get used to being at school again."

"Only you would need a whole week to get adjusted to school," Remus said, grabbing a piece of toast.

"I beg to differ," James said, motioning down the Gryffindor table. A group of sixth years were slumped over their porridge, exhausted. "Look at them. Those are the faces of true sufferers. We need some time to get adjusted!"

"They're only tired because they were up partying in the common room all night," Remus said. "I woke up in the middle of the night and heard them. It's their own fault they're exhausted."

McGonagall came around with their schedules. When Remus got his he looked down at it, reading through it. When he saw the first class, he groaned.

"Divination first!" James said cheerfully. "And then Defense. This day's going to be great!"

"Define 'great,'" Remus muttered, shoving his schedule into his bag. He had a bad feeling about Divination, but he hadn't said anything to the others because they would just claim that he was already getting 'psychic premonitions'.

Sirius put his fingers to either side of his head and screwed up his face. "Wait, wait- you guys, I see something… it's fuzzy… ah, the spirits have a message for us…" he dropped his hands and nodded. "The spirits say Remus is being a sarcastic little shit and needs to perk up."

Peter and James laughed. Remus rolled his eyes. "You can tell the spirits to shove that message up their-"

"Remy!" James shouted, clapping a hand over Remus's mouth. "There are children around!"

Remus shoved James's hand off his mouth, irritated. Sirius raised his eyebrows. "What's got your panties in a twist? You annoyed you're going to be missing classes on Thursday?"

The first full moon was two nights away, and truthfully Remus was annoyed about it. He would be missing the third day of school, and he hadn't wanted to be out this early in the year. That combined with his rising hormones from the actual change produced a very crabby Remus- not to mention he would be forced to sit through two hours of fortune telling that day.

"Don't worry," James said, "we'll make sure you don't miss anything."

"We don't have the same classes anymore," Remus said.

"Oh, yeah." James frowned. "We'll figure something out."

"We should get going," Peter said. "Class is going to be starting, and I don't know where the Divination room is."

"We'll find it," Sirius said, hopping up and grabbing a final sausage off of the plate. "Come on."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We're never going to find it," Sirius moaned, trudging up the stairs.

They had been looking for the Divination tower for fifteen minutes, and they still had no clue where it was.

"Hogwarts needs a map or something," James said. "Like, a map of the whole school. Sirius, put that on our ideas list."

"Done," Sirius said.

Remus frowned. "Okay, do you guys actually have a list?"

Sirius tapped his head. "In here!"

Remus rolled his eyes and turned back to the stairwell. "It has to be around here somewhere…"

"What-ho! Who trespasses on my land?" a tiny voice shouted off to the right.

Sirius frowned at Remus. "Sorry?"

"That wasn't me," said Remus, looking around wildly.

James walked over to a painting hanging on the wall. At first glance it appeared to be nothing but a landscape of a long stretch of grass, but on further inspection they could see a tiny figure in the corner, waving both stubby arms at them. It was a tiny little knight wearing a suit of armor, his face a bright cherry red. A stout gray pony was grazing behind him.

"Hey," James said, "did you say something?"

"Who goes there?" The knight tugged a sword out of his scabbard and waved it in the air, knocking himself off balance so he swayed where he stood. Behind Remus, Sirius's jaw dropped. "I'll make you think twice about trespassing on my land! Draw, I say, draw!"

James glanced back at his friends. "Er- sorry, sir," he said, "we didn't mean to… trespass."

"He's crazy," Sirius whispered to Remus.

"We were just looking for the Divination room. Our schedule says it's in the North Tower?"

"You're on a quest?" the knight asked, his face lighting up. He waddled over to his pony and leaped on. "Brave noblemen, allow Sir Cadogan to be of assistance. Come! We ride!"

He and the horse galloped off. The four friends looked at each other before turning and racing after him as he flew through portrait after portrait, upsetting a group of nuns and a pen full of pigs.

Eventually they reached the end of the stairwell, where a group of students were waiting. They turned curiously as the four boys came to a stop, panting.

"The North Tower!" Sir Cadogan declared.

"Thank you very much," James said, swiping at his forehead with the sleeve of his robe and breathing heavily.

"Anything for fellow adventurers!" Sir Cadogan said, hopping around on his feet. "Be sure to call on Sir Cadogan again if you ever need a brave heart!"

And he ran off, his pony ambling after him.

"Mental," Sirius said, watching him go. "Absolutely mental."

"And helpful," James said, looking around. "Everyone here is in Divination."

"Yes, but where's the classroom?" Remus asked.

There wasn't a door in sight. They joined the group of confused students and chatted for the next few minutes, all of them wondering what they would be learning on the first day of school.

"Class started five minutes ago," Remus said, cross. "What are we waiting for?"

As if in answer to his question, a trapdoor they hadn't previously spotted overhead opened and a silver ladder dropped down. All of them stared at it for a moment.

"Excellent," James said, striding forward and taking hold of it. "Let's go."

He and Sirius led the way up. Remus followed a few people after them, and when he poked his head into the classroom, he raised his eyebrows.

It was like stepping into a noxious cloud of incense and smoke. Remus waved his hand in front of his face to clear the smell as he clambered into the circular room. Candles burned on every spare surface, and in front of him, James and Sirius were already seated in big squashy poofs around a table.

"I'm going to choke in here," Remus said as he joined them.

"I think it's cozy," said James, bouncing up and down in his seat as if to test it.

Peter joined them and they looked around the room as the rest of the class filed in. There were no windows, making the room feel very closed off and claustrophobic. Multicolored scarves were draped everywhere, and in front of each of them was a teacup, all from different sets.

James was craning his neck to look as the last people clambered in.

"If you're looking for Lily, James, she's not coming," Remus said. "She did the smart thing and decided to not take this class."

"What's she taking?" James asked, disappointed.

"I think Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures," Remus said.

James frowned, but anything he was going to say was interrupted by a small "ahem."

They all looked to the front. A woman had appeared out of seemingly thin air, standing in front of the class with her bony hands clasped together in front of her. She reminded Remus of a praying mantis; tall and skinny, she looked out at all of them with wide brown eyes, as though she was sizing them up. She had tied a tie-dye scarf around her forehead and was dressed in the most ridiculous purple robes Remus had ever seen.

"Hello," she said, her voice soft and flowy, "welcome to Divination. My name is Professor Romanie, and I'll be leading you through this journey of time and spirit."

Remus shut his eyes, feeling a bit woozy because of the strong, musky scent. He immediately hated this class.

"Today we'll be starting with the basics." Professor Romanie swept over to her front desk, exaggerating her movements so her robes drifted from side to side with each move. "The art of reading tea leaves.

"Of course, if you do not already possess the gift of the Sight, I'm afraid there is very little I will be able to teach you. Today I will observe and assess your natural talents for this fine and noble art."

Remus snorted. James glared at him.

Professor Romanie walked around with a teapot, pouring cups of steaming tea for them and instructing them to drink until all that's left is the tea leaves. As she walked, she threw out passing comments and warnings to students.

"Watch over your trunk closely this week, dear," she told a startled Gryffindor girl. "And you, expect an owl by the end of the month bearing grave news."

When she reached their table, she grabbed James's cup and began to pour. "You," she said to Peter. Peter went white with fright. "Your parents. Are they well?"

"Y-yes?" Peter squeaked.

"Hmm," is all she said. She set down James's full cup and picked up Remus's, turning her wide eyes onto him.

"Remus Lupin," she murmured, "I've been expecting to see you in my class for years."

Remus blinked, startled. "Oh?"

"Yes," she said, steam rising into her face as she poured his tea. "Yes, I know much about you. Keep a sharp eye on your friends, dear, in the upcoming year."

She spun around and floated over to the next table. All four of them watched her go, eyebrows raised.

"She knew your name," Peter whispered, looking awe-struck.

"Of course she knew my name," Remus said, squinting down into his cup. He gave it a sniff, the perfumed drink making him recoil. "Yuck, I hate floral tea. Dumbledore told all the teachers about me. I'll bet she's going to be using that against me all year." He grinned at his friends. "I suppose I'd better 'keep a sharp eye' on you guys, though. What, are you hiding something?"

They all laughed, but when Remus was occupied Sirius glanced at James. Last night they had discussed their plans for sneaking into the library and nicking all the books on Animagi so they could begin training. They had penciled out what they were planning to do over the summer whenever Remus had been busy, and they were ready to start cracking down on it during the next full moon.

They all gulped down the tea and swirled their cup around, staring down at the tea leaves. They began consulting their book to find out what the goop meant.

"Mine's just a blob," Sirius said, studying his. "D'you reckon I'm gonna grow a third arm or something?"

"I've got a tree-like thing," Remus said, flipping through his book. "Oh, here- apparently I'm going to be spending a lot of time in nature in the upcoming year. Great."

"Mine's kinda like a hand," James said, twisting his cup to see it from a different angle. "What does that mean?"

"Hand…" Remus said, looking through his book. "Hands mean you're going to be constructing something soon."

James scoffed. "Boring! I wanted something cool, like a death omen."

"You want a death omen?" asked Sirius.

"Yeah, it'd make things interesting! Remus, what's the symbol for death?"

"The Grim," Remus said. "It's not in our textbook, but I read about it in the History of Divination. It's shaped like a dog."

James looked back into his cup. "Do you think this could pass as a dog?"

Sirius glanced at it. "No."

"Hmm." James glanced over his shoulder to make sure Professor Romanie wasn't looking, then stuck his finger into the cup and started pushing the tea leaves around. After a moment he looked down into it and grinned. "There! Dog?"

"It looks like the picture I saw in the book," Remus said, a smile growing on his face as he realized what James was about to do.

"Perfect." He turned in his seat and his hand shot into the air, waving it around wildly. "Professor Romanie! Professor Romanie! What does mine mean?"

Professor Romanie turned around, a look of exaggerated surprise on her face. She swept over to James and plucked the cup out of his hand. "Well, let me see, dear…" she frowned down into it. Her eyes widened, and she let out a large gasp that made the class fall silent.

"Oh, my dear…" she said, shaking her head at the cup. "My dear, my dear…"

"What is it, Professor?" James asked, looking at her with wide, innocent eyes.

Professor Romanie pressed a hand to her heart, still shaking her head. "I shouldn't… no, it's best… but you must know…" She turned to James. "My dear… you have the Grim."

The class broke into whispers. "Isn't that the symbol for death?" Remus asked.

Professor Romanie nodded gravely. "Oh, yes, almost certainly…"

"I'm going to die?" James asked, fear painted onto his face.

"The Grim could mean many things," said Professor Romanie, looking at him sadly. "There should be no need to worry, dear… but it would be wise to be cautious, very cautious, in the upcoming months… oh, the _Grim…_ "

She walked away, still shaking her head. The rest of the class was staring at James, horrified. His friends were impressed with his acting. He had just the right amount of fear on his face, and was staring down at his cup with wide eyes.

"What a load of poppycock," James whispered to his friends, turning back around. "This class is going to be easier than I thought."

"Did you see her face?" Sirius snickered. "She loved that."

"Got to make the first class interesting," James said with a grin. "Watch what I do next."

About five minutes later, as Professor Romanie was analyzing the cups of the last table, James started coughing. It was small, at first, and his friends shot him confused expressions. Then it got louder and louder, until everyone at the tables around them looked at him.

James stood up, doubled over with coughs, and dropped his teacup to the ground. Now he had the entire class as an audience, and took advantage of it, grabbing at his neck and gagging. His face was turning red, although Remus suspected it was from trying not to laugh.

"Sirius- Sirius-" he choked, his hand flapping towards Sirius.

Sirius stood and grabbed his hand, an imploring look on his face. "What is it, James? What is it?"

"The- Grim-" James said. "It's coming, I can sense it, I can see it in my mind's eye-"

"Oh, no!" Sirius wailed. "No, James, don't look at it! You're too young!"

"I can't, it's coming!" James swooned and landed in Sirius's outstretched arms, his hand thrown across his forehead dramatically. Still seated at the table, Remus rolled his eyes at the theatrics.

"Oh, my dear!" cried Professor Romanie, flying over. The rest of the class was standing, looking scared. "Are you alright?"

"He's seen the Grim, Professor!" said Sirius. "Please, can you foresee the future? Will he make it?"

Professor Romanie shut her eyes. "The future looks grave, my dear, very grave. Get him to Madam Pomfrey, quickly!" She collapsed into a pouf, looking exhausted. "Oh, I foresee a dark future if you don't hurry!"

"James, we need to go!" Sirius said, shaking James. James remained where he was, limp in his arms. Sirius's eyes narrowed. "I _said_ , we need to go!"

"Can't- move-" James said, his voice weak. "Carry- me-"

"You're bloody kidding me," Sirius muttered so no one else would hear, "I'm not carrying you."

"The light!" James suddenly wailed, thrashing his legs. "Oh, the light-"

"Fine!" Sirius lifted James, straining under the weight of him. James flopped back, his tongue sticking out of his mouth.

"Wait-" he said as Sirius took a step towards the trap door. He reached back towards Peter and Remus, who were still sitting. "My- friends- need them- with me-"

"Yes, yes, go," said Professor Romanie. "Hurry!"

Remus and Peter hurried to their feet, grabbing all of their things. Together they helped James to the trapdoor and climbed down to help lower him down. James moaned every once in a while, his foot twitching, and the entire class watched fearfully as he disappeared down the trapdoor.

When they reached the bottom, they helped carry James down the stairs. As soon as they knew they were out of sight Sirius dropped James and he crashed to the floor with a muffled "Ouch!"

"I can't believe you made me carry you," Sirius said as James sat up, rubbing his head.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" James said, grinning up at them as he fixed his glasses. "Now we've got the rest of the block free!"

"Could you be any more over-dramatic?" Remus asked, helping James to his feet. Normally he would be annoyed at them skipping classes, but he was so relieved to be breathing fresh air again he decided to let this one slide.

"Is that a challenge?"

Sirius suddenly burst into laughter. "Did you see her face?" he asked. "'I foresee dark things, very dark things'- I can't believe that actually worked!"

James doubled over with laughter. "That's it, we're doing that every class. I foresee a lot of Grims in the future…"

They were still laughing as they walked through the empty corridors. All the other students would be in class for the next hour, leaving them free to do whatever they wanted.

"Let's go to the kitchens!" James said. "Or we could head down to the lake?"

"Probably the kitchens," Remus said. "If we go anywhere else we'll get caught."

"Us? Caught?" James scoffed. "There's no one here, who's going to catch us?"

"Who indeed?"

All four of them stopped. They slowly turned around to find Professor McGonagall standing there, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

Remus felt his breath catch like it always did when he was in trouble. He hated it so much, yet he always found himself in it because of his friends.

Sirius was the first to snap out of his shock. He smiled. "Professor McGonagall!" he said. "You look lovely today. Did you get a new haircut over the summer?"

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "What are you four doing out of class?"

"Well, we were in Divination, Professor," Sirius said, "and we were looking at our tea leaves and James got some omen that's supposed to be really bad. Professor Romanie told us it was some sort of a death omen, and James got really freaked out. I don't know if you've been in that classroom, but it's covered in incense, it's really quite claustrophobic, so that combined with the newfound knowledge that he's supposed to die soon made James here a bit woozy. Professor Romanie told us that we could take him outside for some fresh air."

McGonagall looked at James, who put on a pained expression and swayed slightly where he stood. Remus grabbed his arm to mime support.

"I don't suppose you got the Grim?" McGonagall asked him.

James screwed up his face and nodded. "Yes, Professor. Professor Romanie said I'm going to die."

McGonagall snorted. "You have nothing to worry about, Potter. Professor Romanie predicts a student's death every semester; no, you have nothing to worry about."

James frowned. "If you say so, Professor."

"Now, take him outside, get some fresh air, and head back to class," McGonagall said. "No dawdling."

"Of course, Professor," Sirius said, putting an arm around James's shoulders. "Thank you. Come on, James."

They turned and slowly shuffled down the hall. McGonagall watched them go, and when they rounded the corner she stepped back into her classroom.

When they had gone around the corner James collapsed onto the ground, holding his stomach and laughing. Remus leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

"You just lied to McGonagall," he said, still in shock.

"Yes, and it was a rather good lie, if I do say so myself," Sirius said, proud of himself. He tossed his hair back with a grin.

"That was brilliant!" said James. "Merlin, I thought we were going to get detention."

"You just lied to McGonagall," repeated Remus, running a hand through his hair.

"I think Remus might actually need that fresh air," James said, getting to his feet. "You alright there, Remy?"

"Get used to lying," Sirius said, "because we are getting into our pranks this year, guys. The last two years were just warm-ups for this one."

James high-fived him. Remus took a deep breath. _This was going to be a stressful year._

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They spent the rest of the block outside, messing around. When it was time to head to Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were in great spirits.

"Can't wait to see how this teacher mucks up the class," Sirius said as they sat down at their desks in the Defense classroom.

"Try to be positive, Sirius," Remus said. "I'm sure he's going to be just fine."

"Has to be an improvement from last year, right?" James asked.

"True," said Sirius.

They had class with the Slytherins, much to Sirius's disgust. Lily walked in with Severus; the two were talking about something. James pursed his lips as they passed, obviously irritated.

"Why?" he asked. "Why does she hang out with him?"

"If you don't stop asking yourself that your head's gonna explode, mate," Sirius said.

Remus pulled out his textbook and a piece of parchment, getting them set up on his desk. Then he waited as the rest of the class came in and sat down in their seats.

The moment that class started, the door flew open. The tall, stoic teacher that Remus had seen at the feast last night strode in. The class went silent as he marched to the front and turned to face them, his thick eyebrows raised.

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said. His voice was loud and resounded around the tiny classroom. "My name is Professor Baines. Say 'here' when I call your name."

He picked up a list and started reading out their names in alphabetical order. When Sirius's name was called he waved cheerfully, but Professor Baines didn't even look at him. He moved steadily through the list before pausing for the first time at one name.

"Lupin?"

"Here," said Remus.

Professor Baines looked up and fixed him in a stare. Remus stared back at him, startled, and breathed a sigh of relief when he looked back down at the list.

"Potter?"

"Ahoy!" James said with a grin.

Professor Baines stopped. He looked up at James, who was still smiling. "Excuse me?"

"I said ahoy," James said, oblivious to the fearful looks he was getting from his classmates. "It's sailor talk for hello."

"Did I ask you to say hello?" Professor Baines said, his jaw set.

James blinked. "Well, no, but-"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," barked Professor Baines. "When I give you instructions I expect them to be followed the first time. That goes for all of you."

James stared at him, taken aback. When Professor Baines went back to his list, he muttered, "Touchy," to Sirius and Remus.

Remus frowned at the new professor. He was getting a bad feeling about this class.

As soon as Professor Baines had finished with roll, he set down the paper and stared out at them. There was an awkward silence where no one quite knew what to do. Remus glanced at Sirius, who shrugged.

"Lupin," Professor Baines barked. Remus jumped a little and looked up at him to find him glaring at him. "What do you know about Boggarts?"

"Boggarts?" Remus asked blankly.

"That's what I said," Professor Baines sneered. "What, are you deaf?"

Remus flushed. "No, sorry, um- boggarts are shape-shifting creatures that take on the worst fear of whoever's viewing them?" It came out as a question, because he wasn't really sure what was going on. He hadn't expected to be tested like this the first day.

"And?" Professor Baines demanded.

Remus's palms were sweaty. He knew the entire class was looking at him. "Well, it's best to face a Boggart with multiple people because then it can't decide on a form to take."

"And?"

Sirius and James were frowning. Remus was fishing for another fact about Boggarts, which was tough as he'd only ever read brief passages about them. They had never studied them before.

"They hide in dark, confined spaces?" his voice was shaking by now. He hated being put on the spot.

Professor Baines snorted. "Obvious. And?"

"We haven't learned about them, Professor," Sirius said, unable to take it any longer.

Professor Baines turned to him with a glare. "Was I asking you, Black? Five points from Gryffindor for interrupting. And another ten for incompetence, Lupin. When I accepted this job I assumed my students would have learned a thing or two by now."

Remus ducked his head, his cheeks bright red. Sirius was glaring at Professor Baines, and James just looked confused and a little worried.

"Turn to page fourteen in your book and begin reading," Professor Baines said, sitting at his desk. "I hope you will all learn faster than Lupin."

Remus swallowed heavily. Now James was glaring at Professor Baines, and across the room Remus saw Lily trying to meet his eyes. Remus ignored her and opened his book, burying his face in it.

The rest of the class was a nightmare for Remus. They spent most of it reading silently, and even though it wasn't that long of a section Professor Baines seemed oblivious to the fact that they were all finished, so they were forced to sit there silently and wait. Everyone was too nervous to speak up.

Finally, Professor Baines got to his feet and started quizzing them. He didn't address Remus, to his relief, but made other students answer, putting them on the spot and grilling them on the reading. When he was pleased with their responses, he turned back to Remus.

"There, Lupin. I hope you picked up a thing or two."

Remus had to force himself to speak. "Yes, sir."

"Your homework for tonight is a ten inch essay on boggarts," Professor Baines announced. No one dared to groan, but they all shot each other looks.

There were only a few minutes left of class. Professor Baines spent it quizzing them. He seemed to enjoy putting students on the spot.

"Potter, tell me about merfolk."

"Evans, bandicoots."

"Haze, flesh-eating slugs."

And finally, "Lupin, what do you know about werewolves?"

Remus looked up. Class was about to end, and he had just breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't going to get picked on again. Now he felt his blood run cold.

"Well?" Professor Baines pushed. The corners of his lips were lifted slightly into a smile.

"I don't know much about werewolves, sir," Remus said quietly. "We haven't studied them."

"That's something we'll be fixing," Professor Baines said. "I plan to devote a large unit of lessons to werewolves. How to identify, protect yourselves from, and kill them, if the need arises. One can never be too cautious around them."

Remus stared at him. The inside of his mouth was dry.

"Class dismissed," Professor Baines said, turning away.

Everyone leaped up, shoved their things in their bags, and practically ran out of the classroom. Remus was the first out the door, scooping his things into his arms and sprinting out of their before his friends could say anything.

Sirius and James glared at Professor Baines on the way out. In the hall, they looked around, but couldn't spot Remus anywhere. "Remus?" they called.

"He ran off," said James, peering over the crowd.

"That prick!" said Sirius, glaring at the Defense classroom. "What was that all about? He was way too hard on him!"

"Come on, maybe Remus is in the Great Hall already," James said, pulling Sirius and Peter after him.

But Remus didn't show up to lunch, and they didn't see him that afternoon because Sirius, James, and Peter had Muggle studies while Remus was in Arithmancy. Then they had to wait another few hours because he had Ancient Runes after that, and by the time he was finished it was dinner time. They waited for him in the Great Hall, and realized halfway through that he wasn't coming.

"Right, then," Sirius said, grabbing an empty plate and loading it with chicken and vegetables. "Let's head up to the dorm and see if he's there."

They marched out of the hall, carrying the plate of food, and headed through the empty corridors up to the common room. They didn't bother knocking on their bedroom door and walked in to find Remus on his bed, reading a book.

He looked up when they came in, his face blank. "Why aren't you guys at dinner?"

"Because you haven't eaten all day," Sirius said, shoving the plate of food at him. "Where've you been?"

"Class." Remus set the plate on his bedside table and went back to his book. "Now, if you could leave me alone, I'm trying to study."

James grabbed the book out of his hands. Remus stared at his lap, not bothering to get annoyed.

"Don't let that stupid professor get to you," Sirius said, plopping down on Remus's bed. "He just had a bad day and decided to take it out on us."

"On _me_ ," Remus muttered.

"He identified you as the smart one," James said. "Teachers always try and test the smart ones first."

"No, he identified me as the werewolf," Remus snapped. "Dumbledore told him I'm a werewolf and now he's going to treat me like this for the rest of the year."

His friends stared at him, shocked, as he lifted his covers and ducked under them, unable to meet their eyes.

"Remus-"

"Don't try and make me feel better, James, you know it's true," Remus said in a muffled voice. Under the covers, he buried his face in his hands. "He's going to make sure everyone finds out I'm a monster."

Sirius narrowed his eyes and reached out to grab the covers. He jerked them sharply off of Remus, who looked up at him in surprise. "Remus Lupin," he said, "you are not a monster. Say it with me: I'm not a monster."

Remus turned and stared at the wall.

"Remus…" Sirius warned.

"I'm not a monster," Remus muttered.

"Good. Now then, no one's going to know anything because you're going to go to Professor Dumbledore and tell him what's going on," Sirius said.

"No, I'm not," Remus said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the headboard.

"Why not?" asked James. "He'll probably fire him."

"I don't want to cause any more trouble than I have to," said Remus. "I'm not going to Professor Dumbledore."

"Then we are!" said Sirius.

Remus rolled his eyes. "No, you're not, because then you'd have to tell him that you know I'm a werewolf, and then I'd probably be kicked out of the school because I wasn't supposed to tell anyone."

Sirius frowned and looked at James, trying to find a loophole.

"We don't need to tell Dumbledore," James said, "because we're going to protect you, Remus."

Remus looked at him doubtfully. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," said Sirius, catching on. "We'll stick up for you in class, disrupt things if bitch-face Baines- I like that one, don't you?- gets any funny ideas, the works. He's not going to be able to pick on you."

"You'll get in trouble," said Remus, sitting up.

"We don't care," James said. "All in favor of launching the Remus Protection Program say 'aye!'"

"Aye!" chorused Sirius, James, and Peter.

Remus stared at them, a small smile on his face. "Guys…"

"No arguments," Sirius said, "just eating." He grabbed the plate of food and shoved it at Remus, who sighed and picked up the fork.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "You guys are good friends."

"I know we are," James said, getting to his feet. "Now who wants to play Gobstones? My dad gave me a new set before we left."

 **A/N: I hate Professor Baines already, but he's going to be fun to work with. Ah, the struggles of writing.**

 **Thanks for all the great reviews on all three of my stories. Please leave one and tell me what you think! I appreciate each and every one of you, especially those of you who leave a review every chapter. Even if I don't have the time to respond, my face lights up when I see familiar usernames, and it really does make my day.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **-Kayla**


	5. Starting With a Bang

**Chapter 5: Starting With a Bang**

Luckily for Remus, he missed the next Defense class, as it was the day of the full moon. Sirius, James, and Peter had to sit through it, though, and had to sit through Professor Baines's stories of all the times he killed trolls and zombies and werewolves- the list went on and on. By the time they left, Sirius was seething.

"We didn't learn a bloody thing!" he exclaimed. "I don't care about all his stupid experience."

"It's going to be a terrible year," James sighed.

Once all their classes were over, they headed up to the hospital wing to visit Remus before the moon came up. Madam Pomfrey let them in with a frown, but she had learned not to argue with them anymore. They always managed to perk Remus up, and indeed, he did sit up with a broad smile when they came in.

"Hey, guys," he said, "how was Defense?"

"Terrible!" Sirius said, falling back on the bed with his arms thrown out. "Absolutely terrible! He's a first class prick."

"Did you know he killed two trolls with his bare hands?" James asked, rolling his eyes.

"Why would he want to kill his parents?" Sirius asked.

All four of them burst into laughter. Remus felt a lot better now that his friends were there; he hadn't felt particularly poorly that day, but the thought of sitting through another Defense lesson on the day of the full moon was unappealing. He was positive that Baines would have been dropping hints, and Remus didn't want to deal with it.

The three boys stayed and chatted with Remus until it was an hour before the full moon, and Madam Pomfrey swept over to tell them that visiting hours were over. James patted Remus on the back with a supportive smile and Peter gave him a wave as they all left.

"Right, then," James said as soon as they were outside, "time to get cracking. I've already checked out every book on Animagi the library has, and I managed to get a few more over the summer. I reckon we'll be able to pencil out a final plan tonight and then get started on it."

"How long does it take to become an Animagus?" Peter asked, nervous.

"Well, if you follow all the directions it takes a minimum of two or three years," James said. "A lot longer if you aren't trying to rush it. They recommend taking your time, but-"

"We need to get done as fast as possible," Sirius said, nodding. "We won't be any use to Remus if we figure out how to do it seventh year. Come on."

They hurried back to Gryffindor Tower before curfew and headed straight up to their room to get started. They were up half the night, checking and double checking to make sure they had all the steps correct, using the different books for reference. At half past one, James dropped the book he was reading and smiled, tired.

"There," he said. "That's the plan."

They all stared at it. It was a single piece of parchment with writing scrawled all over it, with detailed instructions of what they had to do.

"Hold a Mandrake leaf in our mouth for a month?" Sirius asked, pointing at one of the later steps. "How the hell are we supposed to do that?"

"I thought those were poisonous!" Peter said.

"No, they're just disgusting," James said. "Besides, loads of people have done it before. Think of it as a game."

"A game?" asked Peter, doubtful.

"Yeah. I'll bet I'll be able to transform before either of you," James said, grinning.

"Um, no!" Sirius said, "I'll transform way before you do."

"I'll bet you ten Galleons I'll do it first."

"You are so on. Peter?"

Peter looked back and forth between the two before sighing. "Oh, alright."

"Excellent," said James. "Come on, let's get this all cleaned up; we don't want Remus coming back and finding out what we've been doing."

"Surely he'll be grateful?" Peter asked, scrambling to his feet and helping them hide all the books in their trunks.

Sirius snorted. "No, we'll just get a lecture about how dangerous it is and how he isn't worth it. We'll tell him once we do it, then he'll have no choice but to deal with it. I can't wait to find out what I transform into."

"Probably a bunny," James said.

Sirius whacked him on the arm with one of the books. James yelped and hit him in the stomach.

Thus launched the fiercest book-war in history. Peter tried to stay out of it, but they managed to rope him in about halfway through, and it was three in the morning by the time they had finally managed to clean up and had limped to bed, bruises already forming on their arms and legs. When they visited Remus the next morning in the hospital wing and he had asked where they had gotten them all, they had muttered something about wrestling, grinning at each other behind his back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Um… banana with chocolate sauce?" James asked, chewing thoughtfully.

Sirius dropped the peel. "Damn it! How are you so good at this?"

James lifted the tie that they were using to blindfold him and grinned. "Professional taste buds, mate. Remus's turn."

He handed off the tie to Remus, who tied it around his eyes so he couldn't see anything. There were a few shuffling noises and then Sirius said, "Okay, open."

Remus opened his mouth and tried not to flinch when a spoon was shoved inside. He took a big bite of the gooey stuff on it and wrinkled his nose, trying to place the taste.

"It's sweet… what is it?"

"That's the game, isn't it?" James's voice said. "You have to guess."

"Marmite?"

"No," said Sirius.

Remus swallowed it, the thick, sugary liquid coating his throat. He remembered what his mother used to give him whenever he had a sore throat. Tea with-

"Honey!" he said.

The boys cheered as Remus lifted the tie and tossed it to Peter for his turn.

It was late in the night later that week, after Remus had finally been released from the hospital wing. Professor Baines had been particularly hard on Remus, yelling at him in front of the whole class for his 'abysmal essay', and the boys had decided to bring him down to the kitchens to cheer him up. Sirius had had the bright idea of playing "Hey, What's That In My Mouth?", a game he had just invented. Across the kitchen, some of the house elves had stopped their work to watch them, their huge eyes wide and curious.

"Alright, Peter," James said when Peter had tied the blindfold around his eyes, "open wide."

He shoved a piece of food in Peter's open mouth. Remus frowned, unsure of what it was, as Peter yelped and spit it out.

"That's horrible!" he said. "What was that?"

Sirius and James were on the floor laughing, clutching their stomachs. "It was just a biscuit," James laughed.

Peter took the blindfold off. "No, what was on it?"

"Vinegar," Sirius said, still cracking up.

Remus couldn't help but chuckle. Peter pouted and dropped the tie on the table as his friends laughed.

"Hey, that's no worse than that yoghurt James gave me," Sirius said, clambering back into his seat and wiping tears out of his eyes.

"I like yogurt," Remus said, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

Sirius gagged. "What's wrong with you?"

"Excuse me, sirs?"

One of the house elves was standing there, staring up at them with luminescent green eyes. He held up a plate of cookies.

"Are yous hungry?"

"Oh, cheers, mate," Sirius said, taking the plate from him.

"You don't have to call us 'sirs'," James said, smiling at the elf. "I'm James, and this is Sirius, Remus, and Peter."

The elf looked a little confused, but he bowed his head. "Of course, sir- I mean, James."

He hurried away without looking at them again.

Sirius set the plate on the table and said, "Listen, James, I know your parents don't really believe in house elves, but coming from someone who's family has owned them since their first case of inbreeding- and that was a long time ago, mind you- it's best to just let them be. They like serving people, and calling them sir and all that stuff. Telling them otherwise will just confuse them."

Remus frowned, grabbing a cookie. "I don't think that's right," he said. "How could someone truly be happy spending their whole lives serving others?"

"I dunno, they just do," Sirius said, shrugging.

"Maybe they only thing they like it because that's how they've been trained," Remus said, glancing over at all the house elves washing the dishes and getting prepared for the next day's meals.

"What, are you going to make it your mission to liberate the house elves now?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Remus said, defensive. "I just… I don't know, it's hard to wrap my mind around. I didn't know much about house elves before I came to Hogwarts."

"The Hogwarts house elves are lucky," James said. "Dumbledore treats them really well. Other house elves… well, I pity them."

"My family's horrible to them," Sirius said. "My mom kicks Kreacher all the time and he actually _apologizes_ for it. 'Sorry for scuffing your shoe, madam, let Kreacher get that for you-' it's disgusting." He took a big bite out of his cookie, glaring.

The other boys were quiet, as they always were when Sirius started talking about his family. They weren't quite sure how to handle it.

"Anyways," Sirius said, either oblivious to the awkward silence or deciding to ignore it, "I was thinking that we need to do our first prank for the year. I mean, it's already been two weeks, and I know the full moon kind of impeded any of the plans we had originally, but I feel like McGonagall and the other professors have been getting just a little bit too comfortable. Last year we'd already done a few by this time."

"I know who we should prank!" James said excitedly. "Baines!"

"Perfect!" Sirius said, but Peter and Remus both frowned.

"He'll kill us if he catches us," said Peter, but James waved him off.

"Nah, McGonagall won't let him actually kill us, we'll just get a few detentions," he said.

"Besides, we're not going to be caught!" Sirius said.

"I don't know if it's worth it," Remus said, quiet.

"He's not going to get away with picking on you just because of your furry little problem," James said, "and he needs to realize that. Come on, then, let's brainstorm."

They stayed in the kitchens for another few hours, going through two more plates of cookies and planning out their prank. Finally, when they could eat no more, they stood and left, waving and thanking the bowing house elves on the way out.

"They're good elves," Sirius said as they snuck through the corridors, hidden under the invisibility cloak. "They never tell the teachers we go down there, even after hours."

"They wouldn't want to get us into trouble," James said, keeping his voice low so they wouldn't get caught. "You gotta love house elves."

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"This is a bad idea," Remus muttered into his parchment, not looking at his friends.

"Nonsense," said James, digging around in his bag to make sure he had all the supplies. "It'll be great."

They were in the Defense classroom a few days after their kitchen expedition, ready to do their prank. James had been eager to finally use some of the stuff they had bought in Diagon Alley, but Remus wished they hadn't decided to go so… _big_. He would have felt much better if they were just setting off a few Dungbombs, but their goal was to really disrupt the class.

 _Well, they're going to achieve that,_ Remus thought, worried.

"Settle down," Baines said when class had started, sweeping into the classroom. He turned to glare at them and they all sat up straight as he inspected them.

"I hope you all managed to get your homework finished," he said, turning around and shuffling through some papers on his desk. James pulled something out of his bag and tossed it to Sirius, who quickly hid it under his desk and continued staring at the front of the classroom, his face blank. "And I do hope you put some actual thought into it this time." Baines spun around and glared at Remus, who fixed his gaze on his desk and didn't meet his eyes.

When Baines turned around and started writing on the chalkboard, James tossed something to Peter as well and slid his wand out of his pocket. Looking at his friends, he gave a sharp nod and waved it under the table. Remus watched them do the same thing out of the corner of his eye, his forehead creasing with worry. None of the other students had noticed a thing; they were too busy taking rapid notes as Baines began to speak.

"Today we'll be wrapping up our unit on Boggarts," he was saying, "and next week we will have a practical exam on them. I hope you all know your stuff by then."

James held up three fingers to his friends, then two, then one, and they all tossed what they were holding to different sides of the classroom, keeping them low to the ground. A couple of their students looked around at the slight thumps, but none of them saw the small objects sparking in the corners.

"Boggarts can only be beaten by one thing: laughter," Baines said, turning around and fixing each of them in a sharp glare. "The incantation is-" he pointed at the chalkboard, where he had written the word 'Riddikulus' in big, blocky letters, but at that moment, a large explosion interrupted him. Fireworks started going off in the back right corner, shooting huge red and gold sparks everywhere. The students near it shrieked and jumped off, running to the other side of the classroom.

"What is going on?" Baines shouted over all the noise, but at that moment, another firework went off in the other corner, this one blue and green. The students all started screaming, grouping in the center of the classroom, and Sirius and James were struggling to try and blend in.

As Baines ran towards the first firework, his eyes blazing and his wand out, the last one went off, golden sparks shooting everywhere. Peter couldn't help the small look of pride on his face as the students all screamed again, falling over each other in fright.

While everyone was distracted, James elbowed Remus, who grudgingly picked up his wand. Pointing it at the chalkboard, he whispered an incantation and the piece of chalk lifted into the air, writing over the spell already there.

"Professor Baines is a big slimy git," a student read over all the noise.

The classroom erupted into laughter when they realized what was going on. Sirius looked particularly smug; the words had been his idea, although they had given that job to Remus because he knew the spell the best.

Baines looked at the board, fury on his face, and then pointed his wand at the firework. "REDUCTO!" he shouted. There was a burst of red light and the firework was reduced to a pile of ash. The class went silent as he shouted twice more at the other two fireworks and then at the board- "REDUCTO!"

His spell blew a big hole through the chalkboard, which smoked around the edges. The students stared at it in horror, grouping together in the center of the room out of fear.

Baines turned to them, his upper lip curling. "Who did this?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Nobody said anything. The four boys were staring at him, genuine fear and shock on his face, so they blended in with the other students.

Baines fixed his gaze on Remus, who felt the back of his neck go cold. "Lupin!" he barked. "Front and center!"

Remus walked forward, his legs shaking. He passed his friends, who were all staring at each other, horrified, and Lily Evans, who was watching him with worry.

"This was your doing, wasn't it?" Baines growled.

"N-no, sir," Remus said, his voice trembling. His knees felt weak under the glare he was getting.

Baines pointed towards the door, his face murderous. "Outside."

Remus turned and walked outside without questioning it, wishing that he could run. The class burst into whispers as Remus stepped into the hallway, followed by Baines, who slammed the door shut behind him.

"I didn't do it, sir," Remus said as soon as Baines turned on him, but quailed under the look on Baines's face.

"Don't play games with me," Baines sneered. "I know all about you, Lupin. You're dangerous, and though I may not agree with your position here at school, I have to teach you. But you do not have the right to disrespect me in class- you'll be in detention for months."

He grabbed Remus's wrist in a vice-like grip and started dragging him down the hall, where Remus knew his office was. Remus resisted the urge to struggle out of the grasp, knowing that would just get him in more trouble.

Just then, the door to the Transfiguration classroom opened and Remus nearly passed out in relief when Professor McGonagall poked her head out.

"What's going on?" she asked, scowling. "I heard noises, and-"

Her gaze fell on Baines and Remus, and her eyebrows shot up. She stepped out into the hall and shut her door, turning on the two of them, her eyes narrowed.

"Professor Baines, unhand Mr. Lupin immediately. That is not how we treat students here."

Baines glared at her for a moment longer before letting go of Remus's wrist. Remus pulled it back and brought his hand up to rub it, feeling a bruise already forming.

"Now, what in the name of Merlin is going on?" McGonagall asked.

"This young _man_ disrupted my class and was behaving very disrespectfully," Baines said. "I was taking him to my office to give him his punishments."

McGonagall looked at Remus, surprise on her face. She didn't think that he would do anything like that; his friends, yes, but not him. Remus stared at her with wide eyes, trying to convince her to help him.

"Well-" she said slowly, but was interrupted by a loud bang as the Defense classroom door flew open.

"Professor Baines!" Sirius shouted, running out into the hall. James and Peter were right behind him, looking rather pale. "Remus didn't do it, Professor- it was us!"

"Yeah!" James said. All three of them stopped, staring at the two professors and their friend.

"What?" Baines asked, glowering at them.

"We did it," squeaked Peter. "We threw the fireworks and wrote on the board, Remus didn't know anything about it."

"He would have tried to stop us otherwise," said James. "We kept it a secret."

Remus opened his mouth to say something, but McGonagall broke in. "Well, there you have it, Professor Baines," she said, nodding sharply. "Mr. Lupin is not to blame. As for you three, I'm surprised and astounded in you. Twenty points each from Gryffindor, and I'm sure Professor Baines would agree that two weeks of detention will be necessary."

Baines didn't look too happy, and he was still glaring at Remus, but he said, "Yes, Professor McGonagall, I quite agree."

McGonagall nodded. "Now, why don't you all return to class so I can teach mine in peace?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," Sirius, James, and Peter said, turning and hurrying back to the classroom. Remus turned to the two professors, still determined to speak up, but McGonagall said, "Mr. Lupin, I'd like a word with you in private."

Still glaring, Baines turned and stalked back into his classroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Professor-" Remus started, but McGonagall interrupted him.

"Are you alright, Mr. Lupin?"

"What? Oh- yes," Remus said, massaging his wrist, which was still quite red. "Professor, I-"

McGonagall held up her hand to stop him. "The matter is resolved, Mr. Lupin, I don't wish to hear anymore. But I would like you to pass this on to your friends…" She leaned in closer, her eyebrows raised warningly. "Professor Baines is not a teacher to cross. I would think twice before pulling anything like this again." She stood up and stared down at him until he nodded.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," he said quietly.

"Now then, back to class," she said, shooing him towards the Defense classroom. "And do try to keep your friends in order."

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Baines held Sirius, James, and Peter back after class to discuss their detentions, and glared at Remus until he left the classroom. Outside, he paced back and forth, twisting his hands together in worry.

"Remus?"

Remus spun around to find Lily standing there, looking worried.

"Are you alright?" she asked, stepping closer so she wouldn't be trampled by all the students.

"I'm fine," Remus said, glancing at the closed classroom door.

"Listen," Lily said, gaining his attention again, "I don't know why Baines has it out for you, but- just don't let him get to you, okay? He's wrong." She smiled supportively at him and then glanced at the door, frowning.

"Thanks, Lily," Remus said, smiling. Lily always knew what to say.

She nodded and gave him a little wave before turning and heading off to her next class.

After a few more minutes the door opened and Remus's friends emerged.

"Git," Sirius said matter-of-factly when the door had shut. He fixed his bag. "We're going to be cleaning the trophy room for the next two weeks. How imaginative of him."

"We're lucky we only lost sixty points, though," James said. "Good thing McGonagall was there."

"You alright, Remus?" Peter asked, turning to their friend.

Remus stared at them incredulously. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Because you weren't about to take the fall for us," Sirius said.

"But I helped, too!"

"Yes, but you didn't want to," James said, "we forced you into it. Besides, Baines doesn't need more of a reason to hate you. You would have been in detention alone for at least a month-"

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Sirius asked, frowning.

"No," Remus said, "but I'm going to tell him that I helped you."

"Whoa!" James said, catching the back of Remus's robes as he turned and started marching towards the door. "Don't you dare!"

"You're acting like you want detention!" Sirius said, scowling.

"I do!" Remus said. He shook his head. "I mean, I don't, but I'm not going to let you three take all the blame while I get off with nothing."

"It's okay, Remus," said Peter, "we don't mind, really."

"You'll get plenty more detentions by the end of this year," Sirius said, clapping him on the shoulder. "We'll even let you pick how we get the next one. I say we get Baines again. Did you see his face when the first one went off? Priceless."

"Are you mad?" asked Remus.

"A little bit. Come on, we're going to be late for Herbology."

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Remus didn't stop thanking them for the rest of the day. That evening, in the common room, James finally lost it.

"Remus!" he exclaimed, "Stop thanking us! Seriously, it isn't that big of a deal!"

"And you don't owe us anything, either," Sirius added. "We're your friends, that's what we're here for. Just get us _really_ good Christmas presents, okay?"

"I feel like we need to make a new rule," James said before Remus could say anything else. "About our pranks. If only one of us gets caught, the others need to turn themselves in. There's got to be at least two people caught. And if one person gets off, like Remus did today, they don't have to turn themselves in. There's no need for us all to be in detention; we need someone to do our homework."

"I like that," Sirius said. "So, no one gets caught alone, and if there's one or two of us that don't get caught, don't turn yourselves in."

"But-"

"No buts, Remus. I also think we need a team name," said James.

"A team name?" asked Peter.

"Yeah, something to sign our pranks with, so we're known but still anonymous," James said, grinning around. "Any ideas?"

"The Great Quartet?" Peter offered.

"No, that makes us sound like an orchestra," James said.

"The Ultra Fantastic Pranking Team of Brilliancy?" Sirius offered.

"No, too long. We need something short, sweet, and to the point," James said.

Remus was quiet, thinking about different names. After a while and a few more terrible suggestions, they decided to give up and give it some time.

"We're bound to think of something," said James, getting up. "Now, come on, let's go to bed. I, for one, am exhausted from our amazing prank."

 **A/N: Hey everyone! If you didn't know, I recently started a new story called The Marauders Read. It's basically about Sirius, James, and Remus getting sent a letter telling them to read The Prisoner of Azkaban. I have the prologue and first chapter up, so you can check that out if you want! Just click on my page and you'll find it there. The Marauders all have the same personalities as they do in this series.**

 **Thanks for the continued support; leave a review telling me what you think!**

 **-Kayla**


	6. Worst Fears

**Chapter 6: Worst Fears**

They kept their heads down for the next two weeks while Sirius, James, and Peter served their detentions. Baines insisted on supervising every single one, sitting in the corner and glaring at them the whole night and occasionally shouting that they weren't working hard enough. Remus stayed up late with them to help with their homework, which they struggled to complete in the short time frame.

On the last day of detention, Remus was sitting in the common room as usual, waiting for them. He was surprised when Peter clambered into the room alone.

"Where are Sirius and James?" he asked when Peter had dropped his bag and collapsed into the armchair across from him, exhausted. It was late, and the common room was almost deserted except for a few fourth years in the corner playing a game of chess.

"They told me to go on ahead," he said. "They said there was something they wanted to do."

Remus frowned and was about to ask another question when the portrait swung open again, and James and Sirius walked in, laughing their heads off.

"What did you do?" Remus asked.

James sat in the remaining armchair and Sirius perched on its arm, beaming.

"We left a little present in the trophy room," he said with an evil grin. "Hopefully Baines picks it up, but I'll take Filch, too."

Remus set his Charms essay, which he had been trying to finish all night, down on his lap and sat forward in his seat. "What kind of present?"

"You know those Exploding Gunk Bombs from Gambol and Japes?" James asked.

Remus groaned. "You didn't."

"We did!" Sirius said, leaning back against the chair and letting his legs droop lazily over the sides. "As soon as someone picks it up it'll explode. They're going to get a face full of smelly black gunk."

"You guys!" Remus said over their laughter. "Anyone could pick that up!"

"I can't wait to hear about it," said James.

"I suppose two weeks detention wasn't enough for you, then?" said Remus, picking up his quill again and going back to his essay with renewed vigor. "You want to be cleaning the trophy room all year?"

"Relax, Remy," said Sirius, "they won't suspect us. Why would we want to mess up something we've been cleaning for two weeks?"

"That's exactly what I was wondering."

"It's harmless, Remus," said James. "The stuff smells bad but it's not poisoned or anything. Lighten up, we won't get caught. How's the essay going?"

Remus rolled his eyes but decided to let it go. "I've just about finished. What about you guys? Did you do any while I was in Ancient Runes earlier?"

"Nope," said Sirius. "I didn't even know we had an essay."

Remus sighed and tossed them some parchment. _It's the last night,_ he thought to himself. _It's the last late night, and then things will get back to normal._

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They passed by the trophy room at breakfast the next day and found it still spotless, Sirius and James's 'present' nowhere to be found. They were disappointed at the lack of commotion they appeared to have caused.

"I say you're lucky," said Remus as they entered the Great Hall. "At least you're not going to get caught."

"But I thought something was going to happen," complained Sirius, sitting down. "That thing cost me ten Galleons!"

"Well maybe now you'll learn to spend your money on more productive things," said Remus.

Sirius and James groaned. "Like what, books?" asked James.

"Come on, we're bringing spirit into the castle," said Sirius. "Someone's got to have a bit of fun around here, and I think we're the ones to do it!"

Halfway through breakfast, everyone was surprised when Dumbledore stood up at the head of the Great Hall. He looked out at the students, his silver beard shining in the morning light.

"An announcement from Mr. Filch," he said. "Exploding Gunk Bombs are now banned from Hogwarts, and anyone found in possession of one will find themselves in detention."

He scanned the Great Hall, his eyes raised slightly. His gaze seemed to rest on the four boys for a moment longer than necessary.

"And to whoever visited the trophy room last night, I would thank you to refrain from leaving things behind. It's quite unpleasant to come across them on midnight strolls, I've learned. Thank you."

He sat back down. The hall burst with conversation again, but the four boys stared at each other, silent.

"You got Dumbledore," Remus said, his voice very low so no one would hear them.

"We got Dumbledore!" said James, his eyes wide.

"And we got the Exploding Gunk Bombs banned!" said Sirius with a broad grin. "Oh, we are _so_ good!"

"You got Dumbledore," Remus said, still stunned.

"We're going to get in trouble!" squeaked Peter.

"No, we aren't," said James, grabbing some toast. "If they knew it was us they would have announced it. I expect we'd already be in McGonagall's office."

"I wonder what else we can get banned," said Sirius, piling eggs on his plate. "Let's try and get as many things banned from Hogwarts as we can!"

Remus looked up at the professor's table. Dumbledore was chatting to McGonagall, who was sipping a cup of tea. As though he felt Remus's eyes on him, he glanced over and met his gaze. A small smile crossed his face, and he winked before turning back to his conversation. Remus looked away, his cheeks burning with embarrassment at being caught staring.

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Divination got steadily more ridiculous with each class. Once they had 'mastered' tea leaves, they moved on to reading shapes in clouds and steam from tea kettle. Remus began pulling out his other homework during class and getting it all done, which earned him a lot of teasing from his friends.

"Remus Lupin, not paying attention in class?" Sirius gasped at him across the table as Professor Romanie floated around at the front of the classroom, simpering on and on about how the heat of the steam arouses the 'gift'. Remus was doing his Ancient Runes homework under the table.

"I don't need to pay attention," Remus muttered, his voice low. "It's all a load of nonsense."

James was messing with one of the candles on their table, blowing on it just hard enough for it to flicker but not hard enough for it to go out. He looked up at him. "Listen, Remus, from someone whose days are numbered- appreciate what's in front of you while you still have it. Don't spend your life wishing you were somewhere else. Enjoy what you have."

Sirius sniffed and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "That was so beautiful, James."

Remus rolled his eyes. "You're not going to die, James."

"I know I'm not," said James, "but she doesn't know that."

Professor Romanie had found the Grim for James twice more at this point, once in the clouds and once in the shoeprint he left on a piece of parchment he accidentally stepped on. She seemed to be on a roll with him. The other students had taken to speaking very quietly around him, as though he were on his deathbed and fetching him anything he needed as long as he looked faint while asking for it. He loved the attention, and encouraged it by growing ill with fear and expectations every time Romanie spotted the Grim.

Remus was tired of it.

"I wonder if I could drip some wax in the shape of the Grim on this desk," James said. "D'you reckon that's too far?"

"Nothing's too far with Romanie," said Sirius, flipping through his textbook. "I think she knows exactly what you're doing, but doesn't want to stop you because it's giving her such great publicity. She's practically royalty amongst the rest of these guys."

"She's a fraud," Remus scowled, watching Professor Romanie drape her arms over a Gryffindor girl and warn her to write home immediately. The girl squeaked in fear and scrambled to pull out a piece of parchment.

"Why do you hate this class so much, Remus?" Peter asked.

"It's a waste of my time!" said Remus. "I could be studying, or taking another class. Heck, I could have taken Muggle Studies or something and it would have been a much better use of-"

"Mr. Lupin, am I interrupting something?"

Romanie swept over, her tie-dye scarf floating behind her, and peered down at Remus in the dim light from the candle.

"No, Professor," he said.

"We were only talking about this candle wax, Professor," said James, pointing to a glob of wax on the table. "You don't… you don't think it looks like the… the…"

"The Grim?" Romanie asked, her voice heavy. The class gasped. Remus rolled his eyes.

James swallowed, looking faint. "Yes, Professor."

"Let me see, dear, let me see." Romanie bent over the table and examined it. The rest of the class waited with bated breath. Remus looked at the wax, which was a shapeless white lump on the table.

When Romanie rose, her face was pinched. "Oh, my dear, my dear… another one… please, for your own sake, watch your step…"

She patted James's head as she swept back to the front of the classroom. The other students watched James for a moment longer, horrified, while he stared at the candle wax, the flame reflected in his glasses.

"Nice one, James," Sirius said in a low voice.

"Why don't you just have the stupid Grim tattooed on your forehead?" Remus asked, irritably going back to his homework.

"Relax, Remus, I'm just trying to have some fun," James said, grinning. His face grew very serious. "While I still can."

"You're an inspiration to us all," said Sirius, laying a hand over his heart.

Remus scoffed at them.

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As they walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were, for the first time, a little bit excited. It was finally time for their practical examination against the Boggart, which Baines had pushed back because of the fireworks incident and had even threatened to cancel. But it was finally the day, and an anticipated silence fell on them as they approached the door.

There was a wardrobe sitting in the corner of the classroom when they walked in. The handles had heavy chains on them, keeping whatever was in there locked up, for there was something in there- the wardrobe shook every few minutes, making anyone in the vicinity gasp.

"What do you think yours is going to be?" asked Sirius as they sat down.

"I dunno," said James. "I'm not really scared of a lot of stuff. Although zombies really freak me out. My dad took me to a Muggle movie once about a zombie and I had nightmares for weeks."

Remus was quiet. He had a feeling he knew what his was going to be. He knew his worst fear, or at least the core of it: the full moon. He wasn't sure what would appear- the moon itself, a wolf, himself transforming- but he had a very bad feeling about facing the Boggart, and he expected Baines was going to make him do it.

When everyone was finally seated, Baines came in and barked at them all to push all the desks and chairs against the walls to clear a space in the center of the room. When they had rearranged everything he pulled the wardrobe closer. It rattled, and all of the students backed away from it.

"If you've paid any attention at all in this class, you have nothing to fear," Baines said. "However, if you have spent the last few weeks goofing off, you are in for a bit of trouble." He flicked his wand, and the chains fell off and slid to the floor with an ominous clunk.

"Zabini, forward!"

A Slytherin boy stepped forward, holding his wand out in front of him. He was trying to keep his expression blank, but his eyes were slightly wider than usual.

Baines waved his wand again and the wardrobe doors opened.

There was a moment of terrifying silence when their own trepidation hung in the air around them. Then, smoke started to pour from the wardrobe, spilling out onto the floor. Zabini stood there, his wand shaking in front of them, as a white figure emerged from the depths of the wardrobe. It floated just in front of him, surrounded by the tendrils of smoke, and fixed wide, clear eyes on him. Then, it opened its mouth and began to scream.

All of the students clasped their hands over their ears as the banshee wailed. It floated slowly towards Zabini, who had both his hands over his ears to try and block out the sound.

"The spell, Zabini!" shouted Baines, his voice almost lost amidst the scream.

Zabini swallowed and raised his wand. Remus couldn't hear him, but he saw his mouth move. "Riddikulus!"

The banshee's voice trembled, growing softer and softer, before there was a loud croak, and it stood there, grasping at its throat and croaking like a frog.

The smoke sank into the ground and disappeared. Zabini smiled victoriously as the class erupted into nervous laughter.

"Evans, go!"

Lily stepped forward, her jaw set and her wand raised. The banshee gave a final croak before there was a loud pop and a new monster took its place. The mummy gave a loud groan, rolling its head with several pops and creaks. Its grimy bandages were unwinding in several places, revealing black, rotting flesh. It swung its yellow eyes on Lily and shuffled forward, its mouth falling open in a rattling groan. Several maggots crawled out.

Lily blinked several times, petrified for a moment, before she swung her wand and shouted, "Riddikulus!"

The mummy stopped where it stood. One of its bandages lifted into the air and gave a sharp tug, and it started spinning in place, moaning the whole time. After a second there was only a pile of dusty bandages, and Lily beamed at it.

"Well done!" James shouted, clapping loudly. Lily shot him a withering glare as stepped back into the crowd, rejoining Severus.

"Pettigrew!"

Peter's boggart turned out to be a vampire. He stood there, quailing before the looming monster, and flinched when a drop of blood dripped from its fangs to the floor. It took Baines a full minute of shouting for him to finally stammer, "R-riddikulus!" The vampire turned into a bat and started flying in circles, obviously confused.

After several more students, James was called forward. He swaggered forward, a cocky grin on his face, and faced the boggart as it popped and twisted, taking the shape of the zombie he had predicted. A putrid scent filled the room as it groaned, one of its eyes popping out of its sockets.

James's grin was replaced with wide eyes. He raised his wand, trembling, and jumped when the zombie's hand snapped off and clattered to the floor. "Riddikulus!" he shouted, and the zombie broke into several pieces, falling to the floor at his feet.

"That wasn't too hard," he said as he walked back over to his friends, a shaky confidence returning to him.

Another few students, then-

"Lupin," Baines snarled.

Remus walked forward, clutching his wand in his sweaty hand. He saw Lily smiling supportively at him out of the corner of his eye, but he kept his gaze fixed on the flopping fish in front of him, which had been a terrifying merman only a second ago. He stood there as the fish flopped one way, then the next, and then flew into the air with a loud pop.

And there it was, hanging low in the sky in front of him. A big white orb, clouds drifting in front of its full form. Remus felt his wand drop as helplessness overtook him, his body going rigid with fear. There he was, back in the shack, waiting for the moment that the moon crested in the window, waiting for sharp pain to spread across his body, for his mind to be completely taken over, to transform into a monster that could tear his friends apart without a shadow of guilt, waiting for-

"Come on, Remus!"

It was James. Remus blinked a few times, his gaze refocusing. He wasn't in the shack. It wasn't the full moon. He was in class, and he needed to get rid of this Boggart.

"Riddikulus!" he said, his voice much stronger than he felt.

There was a loud pop, and the moon was punctured like a balloon. It zoomed around the room with a loud wheezing noise, making several students laugh in delight.

"Well done," Sirius said, clapping him on the shoulder as he returned. Remus's knees felt weak, but he managed to smile.

He looked back over at Baines, who was standing in the corner with his arms crossed. He was watching the moon with a sharp glare. Then his gaze shifted and he met Remus's eyes with a sneer.

"Black!" he barked.

Sirius straightened, lifting his chin defiantly in the air. He marched forward and stood in the center of the room, waiting as the moon finally lost its air and dropped to the ground in front of him, a limp pile of white plastic. There was a loud pop, and a new figure loomed there, her hair pulled back into a sharp bun, her sharp, proud features twisted with hatred.

"Traitor," she hissed at Sirius, who had gone white with fear. "Muggle-loving scum, good-for-nothing waste of space, disappointment, freak, blood traitor-"

Her voice rose with each insult she hurled at him. Sirius drew away as she stepped forward, her heel cracking sharply against the stone floor. He winced with every step she took. Her eyes flashed as she raised her hand, pointing at him.

"Imbecile, weak, disappointment to the family name, crazy-"

"Riddikulus."

His voice was quiet but firm. Sirius met the Boggart's eyes, which shone with dislike, and watched as she stopped, drew back a few steps, and lowered her head. When she lifted it again she was a clown, a bright red smile painted on her face. There was a smattering of laughter from the assembled students.

The Boggart had had enough. It turned and stumbled toward the wardrobe, falling inside as the students laughed louder behind it, driving it away. Baines leapt forward and slammed the door shut, trapping it inside.

The room went silent. Sirius was still in the center of the room, staring at the wardrobe with a blank expression. No one seemed to know what to do.

"You all performed with surprising competence," Baines said, turning back around. His dark eyes fell on Sirius for a second, a frown on his face. "Five points each to everyone who faced the Boggart. This is the end of our unit. No homework for tonight. You are dismissed."

He turned and left the classroom, leaving the crowd of students standing there. No one moved for a few moments before someone chuckled nervously, causing all of the others to laugh and start moving again, collecting their things. The wardrobe was still in the corner, motionless.

James, Remus, and Peter slowly walked towards Sirius, who hadn't moved yet.

"Sirius?" asked James. "Are you alright?"

Sirius turned and pushed past them, grabbing his bag and hurrying out the door. James started to go after him, but Remus held him back.

"Let him go," he said. "He needs some time to calm down. It will do him no good if we try to push him now."

James nodded, but he looked worried.

"Remus?"

Remus turned and saw Lily standing there. Severus skulked behind her, a scowl on his face. He hadn't faced the Boggart, but Remus wasn't sure if he was irritated about that or the fact that Lily was talking to a friend of James's.

"Lily!" James said, his worried expression fading into a smile. "You did wonderful against that Boggart. You know, I always thought that mummies were terrifying, as well. Something about the way they walk-"

"Sorry, I don't mean to pry, Remus," Lily said, ignoring James, "but I'm just curious; why was your Boggart the moon?"

Remus swallowed, casting about for some excuse. "Um…"

"The moon?" James threw an arm around Remus's shoulders and laughed. "Why would he be afraid of the moon? No, that was a crystal ball." He looked at Remus with his eyebrows raised. "I told you your future is going to be fine, there's nothing to be worried about."

Remus nodded wordlessly. Lily looked surprised. "A crystal ball?"

"Yeah," said James, "Remus is scared that he won't succeed in life. Of course, it could also mean he's just really terrified of the Divination professor."

"I am not," Remus said with a scowl, but he felt gratitude bubbling inside him.

"Oh, I guess I see it now," said Lily, thoughtful. She smiled at Remus. "You don't have to worry, Remus, you're going to do fantastic in the future."

"Thank you," Remus said.

Lily nodded at him, frowned at James, then spun around and left, taking Severus's arm as she went. Severus was staring at Remus, his eyes narrowed, but trailed after Lily.

James let go of Remus as Peter handed them their bags. "Thank you," sighed Remus, relieved.

"Don't mention it," said James. "Now, come on, let's go get lunch. We'll let Sirius calm down and talk to him later."

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Remus didn't see Sirius until much later that day after dinner, as he had had Arithmancy after lunch. Sirius didn't come to dinner, and James told him that he had been quiet during Muggle studies, but had spoken to him briefly.

"He asked to be left alone for a while," James said, shoveling food into his mouth. "Said he just needed a little bit more time to gather his thoughts. I didn't like it, but I decided to wait until you were back before actually talking to him. You always know what to say when stuff like this happens."

They wrapped up some dessert for Sirius, taking all of his favorite things, and went up to the common room early. He wasn't there, so they walked up to the dorm, where they found him on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey," he said without looking at them when they walked in.

"Hey," said James. "We brought you some dessert."

Sirius sat up, leaning back against the headboard, and accepted the food, setting it on his night table and not opening the napkins. Then he tipped his head back and kept staring at the ceiling.

James sat down on his bed next to Sirius, joined by Peter. Remus perched on the corner of Sirius's bed, staring at the floor.

"That was your mother?" James asked.

Sirius didn't look at him. "Yes."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

James fell silent. No one spoke for a few minutes, before Sirius said, "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you all day. I didn't mean to worry you, I just… I needed some time alone."

"We know," said Peter.

"Are you okay now?" asked Remus.

Sirius smiled slightly, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." He reached over and grabbed one of the napkins, unwrapping it and taking out several cookies. "Oh, brilliant, I'm starving."

"Remus wanted to bring you real food, but where's the fun in that?" James asked, reaching over and taking one of the cookies. "And then Peter was trying to bring you treacle tart, but I will have none of that in this dorm room."

"You're going to need to learn to love it if you want to date Lily," Sirius said, taking a bite out of his cookie. "Didn't you say that was her favorite?"

"Yes," said James with a heavy sigh. "When the time comes, I'll have to make those sacrifices. Until then, though, treacle tart is banned from our dormitory. Just the _smell_ of it-"

"I know what you're getting for Christmas," Remus said with a grin.

James scowled. "Don't you dare, Lupin."

They all laughed, and Sirius looked almost back to normal as he ate. None of them spoke of the Boggart for the rest of the night.

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At breakfast, an owl landed in front of Sirius carrying a letter. He frowned at it as he untied it from the owl's leg. It flew off, getting feathers in the porridge.

"What is it?" James asked as Sirius opened the letter and read it.

"Professor McGonagall wants to see me in her office first period," he said. He looked up at his friends. "What have I done?"

"I dunno," said James.

"You don't think this is about the Exploding Gunk Bomb?" Peter asked, his eyes wide.

"That was days ago," said Remus. "And why would it be just Sirius?"

"If it is about the bomb, you have permission to chew the rest of us out as well," James said. "Remember the rule- no one gets caught alone."

They wished Sirius luck as he went his separate way after breakfast. Clutching the letter, he walked through the corridors to McGonagall's office, getting there just after class had started. Taking a bracing breath, he raised his hand and knocked.

"Come in."

Sirius opened the door and stepped inside. Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk, doing some paperwork. She looked up when Sirius entered and took off her spectacles, setting them aside.

"Ah, Mr. Black. Take a seat."

Sirius dropped his bag by the chair and sat down. McGonagall folded her hands in front of her and stared at him, a frown on her face. Sirius fidgeted in his chair.

"I didn't do it, Professor," he said.

"Didn't do what?"

"I don't know, whatever it is I'm here for," said Sirius.

McGonagall actually smiled, which surprised Sirius. "You're not in trouble, Mr. Black. I called you in here because I heard about what happened in Professor Baines's class yesterday."

"Oh," said Sirius. Then, "Oh."

"Hmm." McGonagall kept her gaze on him for another moment before she grabbed a tin and popped the lid off. "Biscuit, Mr. Black?"

Sirius frowned, but reached in and took one. "Thank you, Professor."

"As head of Gryffindor house it is my responsibility to ensure that my students are safe and happy," she said, placing the tin back on her desk. "And as your professor, it is my responsibility to make sure that you are alright."

"I'm fine, Professor," Sirius said quietly, holding the biscuit with both hands and staring down at his lap.

"I have no doubt that you are," McGonagall said. "You're a strong boy, Mr. Black. While I don't approve of _all_ of your actions-" she shot him a look. "I know that you're a very clever and good person, and you're going to go far."

Sirius looked up at her, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth.

"I won't ask any more questions than are necessary," McGonagall continued. "You are in good hands with your friends. But if there's ever anything you need to talk about- or if you would just like to sit down for a cup of tea and some conversation… never hesitate to stop by, no matter what the time."

Sirius clutched the biscuit in his hand, feeling crumbs break off and get all over his robes. "Thank you, Professor," he said, his voice quiet.

"Of course, Mr. Black. Now, off to class. I've already informed Professor Flitwick where you are. Go on, then."

Sirius stood up and grabbed his bag, turning to go. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob and turned back around. "Thank you," he said again.

McGonagall smiled lightly at him. "Go, Mr. Black."

Sirius went.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"She just asked me about the bomb," Sirius told his friends as they left Herbology. "Then she reminded me again that they're banned and let me go."

"She suspects us, then," said James, nodding. He grinned. "But they're not going to catch us!"

"They are if you raise your voice every time you talk about it," said Remus, glancing around at the other students around them. "Be quiet."

"What's the point of pranking if no one knows it's us?" complained James. "Sooner or later someone else is going to swoop in and take all of our credit."

"But we don't want to get caught!" said Peter.

"That's why I still think we should have a team name," said James. "Something to sign off with, so it's anonymous but still builds up a reputation."

"You're right!" said Sirius. "All for 'The Sirius Black Experience', raise your hand!"

He threw his hand into the air. The other three rolled their eyes and kept walking.

"Remus, do you have any ideas?" James asked.

Remus shook his head. "It has to be something short. And catchy."

"Like The Sirius Black Experience."

"Okay, first of all, the whole point of a name is anonymity," said Remus. "Putting your name in it is going to give it all away. And second of all, I am not being on any team called 'The Sirius Black Experience'."

"I think it's clever," sniffed Sirius.

"Of course you do."

"Something will come to us," said Peter.

"I guess," said James, letting out a huff of exasperation. "Why do all of our good ideas disappear just when we need them?"

"I didn't know you had any good ideas, James," said Remus with a grin.

James narrowed his eyes and leapt forward, throwing an arm around Remus's shoulders and bending him down. He proceeded to give him a fierce noogie, a grin on his face.

"Concede!" he shouted.

Remus laughed and tried to squirm out of his grip. "No!"

"Concede!"

Remus tried to back out, but James was holding him too tightly. He managed to choke out between his laughter, "Alright, alright, I concede."

James released him. Sirius and Peter were holding on to each other, laughing, and Remus mock-glared at a grinning James as he straightened up and fixed his hair.

"You're evil," he said.

"I know," James said. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up. "You know, I was thinking that Sirius might be on to something. How about we call ourselves 'The James Potter Experience'?"

"Hey, you can't steal my name!" Sirius said, his laugh dying.

"That's brilliant, James!" said Remus. "We can get t-shirts and everything!"

"Whoa, hold on a second- you're agreeing with _him_ now? What about the Sirius Black Experience?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Remus said, waving him off. "That's stupid. Now, The James Potter Experience- that's catchy."

Sirius looked back and forth between Remus and James, who were nearly shaking with repressed laughter. "I hate you," he declared. "I hate you both. Come on, Peter, let's go start our own team."

He grabbed Peter's sleeve and dragged him away, leaving a laughing Remus and James behind him. The four of them ended up being late to Charms, but they took their lecture well, and when they sat down in their seats all four of them were still laughing.

 **A/N: I've been on a school trip for the past week, so sorry for not updating! I hope you enjoyed this chapter; please leave a review telling me what you think.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **-Kayla**


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